Silver and Cold
by Kage Kashu
Summary: Seto's a vampire. Jou's really superstitious. When Seto chooses to tell someone about his afliction, he goes the the one who's most likely to believe him. Chapter 15: Career Day, Books and Tea
1. The Trouble Working With Vampires

Title: Silver and Cold  
  
Chapter: 1/?  
  
Chapter Title: The Trouble Working With Vampires  
  
Current Rating: PG-13 (For Blood. Blood!!! And a vampire. It can't be less.)  
  
Author: Kage Kashu  
  
Archive: FF  
  
Genre: Uhm...  
  
Chapter Summary: Kaiba's a vampire, and he feels that he has to tell someone...  
  
Disclaimer: Don't worry, I don't own them... yet. Or the song, though I think it's quite lovely.  
  
Author's notes: Evil plotbunnies from hell. With mutant fleas that bite and bite, and bite and bite. They don't stop!!  
  
Warnings: For this chapter? Vampire. Biting.  
  
Timeline: AUish, after Noa Arc. Some years later. (Don't ask me to be more precise yet.)  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
~I  
  
I came here today  
  
But I left here in darkness  
  
And found you  
  
Found you on the way  
  
And now  
  
It is silver and silent  
  
It is silver and cold  
  
You went somber resplendence~  
  
~~Silver and Cold  
  
Pale, silver light from above haloed the two figures in the abandoned park, lending a softer, colder look to the scene than daylight. A chill seemed permanently imbedded in the air, and the frost that grew on the local plant life threatened to overtake the two. Shadows were an unnaturally sharp contrast to the silvery shine to everything that wasn't encased in it; Nox (1) was about tonight. The two young men occupied the one piece of playground equipment that was whole and free of the graffiti that encompassed everything else. One was seated on a swing, while the other leaned against one of the bars that held the rickety swing set together.  
  
The one on the swing had an icy countenance that made him seem like he belonged in the chilly sharp contrast of the night, somehow adding to the surrounding darkness. Black shadows seemed to cover most of his face, while his standing counterpart seemed to draw the light, silver rendering his face beatifically, a rather striking contrast. The seated man's hair was nearly black as well, as the shadow seemed to crawl further over him than it should, enveloping him in the rather chilled embrace of the night. The other's hair was a pure glowing silver under the moonlight, as he seemed to belong. Light and shadow. Perfect contrast. Emotion seemed to run along the same vein, the shadowed man almost chillingly silent, as the one encompassed in the light carried a lighthearted amusement, and spoke quite loudly, with the occasional gesticulation. And, recalling the cold, the arms slipped closer upon the young man's body once again.  
  
Kaiba Seto and Jounouchi Katsuya. Two that would usually each call the other their mortal enemy, yet would still help each other, without a thought towards compensation if the other needed them, and if the case arose. But something in the current atmosphere said that they weren't here to fight with each other. There was something about that little detail that was very wrong, yet, in a strange manner perfectly right. As the light and shadows wrapped around them, so did a strange sense of enigma. In fact, cold, cold Kaiba Seto had called the normally hotheaded Jounouchi here for a reason. He had a problem, and the pale blonde was the only one that he was certain he could convince of the truth of his... situation. How fucked was that?  
  
"So... You're a vampire? For real?" Jounouchi asked, amused, and somehow sarcastic. At this hour, being nearly midnight, it was really quiet and very still, as the calm before a storm. Kaiba glared from his seat on a swing. "Why ya glarin'? I have all right's ta be cautious after that last thing... The one where Yami Bakura bit me, then claimed he was a werewolf." He scratched his head, vaguely embarrassed. "Still can't really explain why I was howlin' at the moon that night..." He tipped his head back, staring at the abnormally bright moon. A slight mist in the upper atmosphere created three soft glowing rings around the silvery white orb in the sky. A sign that the lucky lady (2) was also about. And considering Jouno's luck, she was in a mood. "Damn," he murmured, on a soft whuff of breath that crystallized in the air.  
  
"What? You want proof?" Kaiba snarled, annoyed at the disbelief that played across Jounouchi's open face. The other boy was more superstitious than an old sailor (3), and didn't believe him? Of course, he was right. The werewolf thing could just as easily be blamed on Kaiba, as he had backed up Bakura's word. It had been an amusing joke. He was suddenly reminded of the video they had taken that night... he really had to do something about that.  
  
Jouno nodded with a grin. "Don't go biting me though..." he said in a cheerful, joking tone. He didn't believe Kaiba anyway, but if he was telling the truth... Well, the dogs (4) said something big was going down tonight, and he didn't want it to be to him. These kind of things tended to be distinctly unpleasant.  
  
"I'm quite tempted to," Kaiba hissed, still glaring. He hated being wrong... especially where Jounouchi was concerned, for some reason. He had been so sure that he would be able to convince him fairly easily.  
  
The blonde chuckled, "If ya really wanna..." He leaned back in what he thought was a provocative pose. Whatever it was, provocative shouldn't have been it. "So, are ya?" He winked at the brunette. Kaiba's gaze seemed drawn to, and quite attached to his neck though. Jounouchi switched positions back to his slump against the bar to the swing set, mildly creeped out. "Honestly, I would prefer ya ta be kiddin', 'cause I've heard way to many vampire stories... So, tell me truly now, or so help me, I'll stake yer lying ass 'gainst Mrs. Morris' old oak desk. Are you really a vampire?"  
  
Kaiba wasn't sure if Jounouchi was bluffing about the staking, but he really didn't want to find out. Sure, he'd pissed the blonde off before, but Jounouchi had never made as extensive a threat as that. Apparently, Jouno despised liars. Which made it a good thing that Kaiba was telling the truth, right? He stood up to walk over to Jounouchi.  
  
"What? Ya don't have ta..." Jouno's eyes crossed to attempt to look at the finger suddenly being pressed to his lips. It didn't work to well; his nose was in the way. "Uhm...I..." He stuttered for a moment before deciding to just listen to whatever Kaiba was going to say. No matter how much that went against his nature.  
  
"Look," he ordered, baring a couple of fangs. The upper left ones. He wasn't prepared for the suddenly sharp gaze the blonde had turned onto him... his teeth, really. Jouno returned Kaiba's favor of finger-to-mouth, in order to actually feel the elongated canine. He wasn't sure if he had expected to be dull, or what, but one thing was certain... He hadn't expected it to be that sharp!  
  
"Ouch!" Jouno cried, another whuff of silvery crystals floating off. And then he noticed something. While his breath was fogging... Kaiba's wasn't. He blinked at Kaiba.  
  
"Dumb mutt," Kaiba muttered, trying to ignore the faint taste of blood that was now in his mouth. Even worse, was that he could smell it, too. Before, the taste of blood had been rather flat and bitter, like sucking on a penny. But now... the flavor was distinctly pleasant. Slightly sweet with a tang that reminded him of something forgotten, a pull on the mind that no matter how he searched, he couldn't find the source. He blinked when the blonde shoved the finger into his own mouth. He licked his lips. Damnit. He had promised himself that he wouldn't do that to Jounouchi. But the blonde's words came back to smack him in the face.  
  
'If ya really wanna...'  
  
He raised a hand to his neck, rubbing where he had been bitten, staring at Jouno, not really realizing that the blonde was staring right back.  
  
"Kaiba?" Jounouchi asked, noting that the CEO-turned-vampire seemed to be somewhere in La-La Land. Staring at him. Something in the back of his mind told him that things just weren't going to go well. Well, it wasn't like he wasn't flattered, but the attention was a bit odd, especially coming from the rather cold Kaiba Seto. He was a bit surprised when Kaiba moved closer, still staring, the 'creep out' feeling was coming back. The brunette's pupils were almost completely dilated. Gods, that made it creepier.  
  
"Kaiba?" Okay, now he was starting to get worried. He was a naturally superstitious person, as evidenced by the fact that he believed Yami Bakura over the whole werewolf thing, for an entire night, and the day after... until a bored classmate stabbed him with a silver pen; he blamed the teacher. That had hurt. But now... well, either Kaiba had a really cool set of fake teeth, or it was real. "Kaiba?"  
  
"You know," Kaiba murmured, almost inaudibly, "I think I do..." In a sharp and sudden movement, unlike his previous creeping closer, he caught Jouno by the shoulders, pulling him close. It had been to fast of a movement, for Jounouchi to even see.  
  
"Eep!!" Jouno squeaked, "You do what?" Now Kaiba's right hand was creeping up to the side of his face, as the other held them tightly together. Kaiba's lips brushed lightly against his cheek, before trailing down his jaw. Ah, shit. He was going to...! "Hey! Kaiba! Ya don' wanna be doin' that!" Jounouchi panicked. 'I told him... if he wanted ta... Oh man, oh man...' This was _so_ not good. 'But why did he tell me about this?' Damn those odd thoughts.  
  
Wetness trailed down his neck and he braced himself to push Kaiba away. His hands were placed against Kaiba's chest, pushing, softly at first, then harder, until he was pushing as hard as he could. No matter what he did, the other didn't so much as change position... without so much as tightening a muscle. Kaiba had him in a perfectly effortless hold. Kaiba's mouth was now pressed against the juncture of his neck and shoulders, at the soft spot just above the clavicle (5), gently sucking at the skin. Jouno struggled to hold back a moan at the feeling. And then realized that that was _not_ his biggest worry. "Kaiba! Let go! I didn't mean it!"  
  
He choked at the feeling of something sharp digging into the soft part of his neck. "Ack." That... hurt! A lot more than the books had lead him to believe. He whimpered slightly. It burned. The bite wasn't delicate; from the feel of it, the flesh of his neck was being torn. The feel of something wet slipping down his chest startled him, and he focused on that. Blood? The pain was dampening, and he hoped to hell, as he doubted heaven was listening, that Kaiba wouldn't turn him into a vampire as well.  
  
His mouth worked silently, as he tried to force some sound from his throat. The burn increased, and finally a sound came out. Just another whimper, this one sounding plaintive, somehow. Plaintive was so not him, and that wasn't what he'd been trying to get out. "Ka..." His vision blacked momentarily. "Uh... Ka..." It was beginning to come to his attention that breathing was probably the most painful thing he had ever done.  
  
The world dimmed suddenly, to an extreme degree. The night pulled in, ever so darker than before. He felt his body sagging against Kaiba as consciousness slipped away from him.  
  
Kaiba was lost in the exquisite flavor of the blood in his mouth. Warm, the taste of life... although, he did snap back to reality as Jounouchi's body turned limp against his. He pulled away abruptly, to stare at the blonde in his arms. Oh no. "Jounouchi... I... I'm sorry..."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
(1) Nox. Goddess of the Night, and Keeper of Secrets.  
  
(2) Lucky lady. Goddess of Luck, or Fortune.  
  
(3) More superstitious than an old sailor. Sailors in old time Japan were famed for being superstitious, more so than in the west.  
  
(4) The dogs. Moon dogs. The glowing rings that occasionally show up around an exceptionally bright moon. Mostly seen when the upper atmosphere has a lot of moisture in it. It's supposedly very bad luck to have three of them around the moon at a time.  
  
(5) Clavicle. That lovely bone in the shoulder. In the front. Also called collar bone.  
  
Ending A/N: Thanks be to Danyella Skyler Silverfire, for floating over my shoulder and helping me with this. =^.^=  
  
You all, tell me what you think, and just so you know, this'll be heavy on the supernatural. It'll soon go to R, and I might possibly have an NC-17 version on AFF. Thank you all. 


	2. It Was A Long Story

Title: Silver and Cold  
  
Chapter: 2/?  
  
Chapter Title: It Was A Long Story  
  
Current Rating: Still PG-13  
  
Author: Kage Kashu  
  
Archive: FF, Dragon's Lair  
  
Genre: Uhm...  
  
Chapter Summary: Kaiba takes Jouno home, and then... It's the next day already. Kaiba has a lot of explaining to do... and a long story to tell.  
  
Disclaimer: Don't worry, I don't own them... yet.  
  
Author's notes: Evil plotbunnies from hell. With mutant fleas that bite and bite, and bite and bite. They don't stop!!  
  
Warnings: For this chapter? Vampire. Mild insinuations. Casual mention of murder.  
  
Timeline: AUish, after Noa Arc. Some years later.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
~Your sins into me  
  
Oh my beautiful one  
  
Your sins into me  
  
Every rapturous voice escapes  
  
On a tremble of prayer  
  
And I beg for forgiveness  
  
Your sins into me  
  
Your sins into me  
  
Oh my beautiful one~  
  
~~Silver and Cold  
  
He leaned forward, sniffing at the blonde. Jouno was still alive, he decided. Just unconscious.  
  
Blood had leaked down from the bite at his neck, down his chest, wetting the white shirt with dark red. Almost against his will, his head dipped down to lap at the wound at the base of Jounouchi's throat. After a moment, he shook his head, pulling the quiescent blonde easily up, higher into his arms, with the intention of carrying him home. Until he realized that he didn't know where Jounouchi's home was. "Looks like you'll be coming home with me then," he sighed, apologetically.  
  
He was glad that Mokuba was staying over at Yuugi's tonight. He had been worried for a while, about his little brother, knowing that Mokuba had had a crush on the master duelist. Yuugi had handled it really well, not too surprising really, as Kaiba recalled, and had let Mokuba down as gently as possible. Of course, worrying about Mokuba right now was somewhat inappropriate, considering his current... dilemma. Yes, that would be a good word to use for it. Dilemma, nothing more personal. It was just a dilemma.  
  
He made it home without much incident, which wasn't surprising, considering the neighborhood he lived in. His mansion was all but empty at this hour. The live-in maids and cook resided on the other side of the large building, so it was utterly silent. The living room couch was slightly beat up, more there because of comfort levels than appearance. He could have it replaced, a thousand times, but he liked that couch, as it had been the only surviving piece of furniture from the one time his computer lab exploded. Jounouchi should be alright right there.  
  
He gently placed the blonde on the couch, and turned to head up to his room. He paused in the doorway, unable to force himself through it. Why? He turned to go sit next to Jounouchi on the couch. Maybe he'd just sleep here? No, he couldn't do that, he decided, staring at the large east- facing windows. No, he could _not_ do that. He settled a hand on the blonde's forehead and realized that he felt cold. Well, shit.  
  
He felt down to Jouno's arms, and they were cold too. That was so not good. Icy. The cold wouldn't affect him, but Jouno... and having lost that blood, he would have a hard time keeping warm, right? And this room wasn't very warm. He stood, and bent down to lift Jounouchi again. "To my room then. You aren't going to school tomorrow."  
  
~*~  
  
Cold silver white. Stark light that reveals all, yet hides everything in its shadowy counterpart. The moon. Somewhere in the distance, a wolf howled, and Jounouchi shivered. There shouldn't be wolves that near. Darkness, warm and cloaking around him, hiding him from that cold orb that shed it's pale light mercilessly upon him. Lights floated around him, blue and white, yet reminiscent of fire.  
  
Jounouchi blinked at the floating lights. Soft bluish white blobs floating in the darkness that surrounded him. A warm breath of air on his neck, soft and comforting against the burning sensation on the lower right side of his neck. Soft dry warmth surrounded him, and he was confused. The last thing he remembered was being really cold, Kaiba's arms around him, and a biting, burning pain.  
  
His neck. That hurt. Like, really hurt.  
  
His hand shot up to touch his neck at the place where the burning feeling came from. -!!- Several of the blue-white blobs grew in size, as a whine escaped his throat. The burning had given way to the searing pain of an old wound pulled open. "Aaah!"  
  
His eyes flashed open to see a rather stunned looking Kaiba Seto staring down at him. And then he was pulled roughly from the cocoon of warmth that had been around him. "Urk..." was all that escaped his lips as he hit Kaiba's chest at top speed. He was placed neatly on the floor and wobbled as Kaiba became a blur. "Aaaah." The area in which he had been laying... was on fire... 'was' being the key word, as Kaiba dumped a couple of vases onto it. "Kaiba?"  
  
Kaiba slumped his shoulders slightly, in a manner Jounouchi hadn't seen before. "Are you alright?"  
  
"Huh?"  
  
Kaiba reached out and touched his neck, right above the injury... that he had inflicted. He seemed sheepish. Very sheepish. Did he feel bad about it? Only one way to find out.  
  
"I'll feel better... if you'd apologize..."  
  
Kaiba's head dipped down slightly. "I'm sorry." His voice was soft, and for once, held not a trace of mockery.  
  
Jounouchi blinked. That didn't even sound grudging, as usual. There was something about that that was wrong. Very wrong. But it was kind of nice. He'd opened his mouth when Kaiba continued.  
  
"That was unbearably stupid of me. I completely lost control of myself." And to Jouno's stunned amazement, he dropped to his knees, "I was out of line. I don't deserve your forgiveness."  
  
Jounouchi's mouth snapped closed. And he realized that he should say something. So he opened his mouth again. And closed it. What the hell could he say? Finally, after several tries, he came up with, "I guess I'll have ta forgive you anyway... And what makes you think you don't deserve it? Ya didn't mean fer that ta happen, did you?"  
  
Kaiba blinked. "Uhm..." He sat up higher on his knees. "I would have thought you would have wanted to see me like this."  
  
Jouno stared at him. "Kaiba..." He honestly didn't know what to say. Unsure of himself, and of Kaiba at the moment, he turned back to where he had been laying. A bed, of course. A really nice bed at that. Dark blue, cotton, he guessed, according to the scent. Burnt cotton. "What happened?"  
  
Kaiba stared at the bed as well. "I'm not sure. We were laying there, and you moved... and the bed caught on fire."  
  
"Why was I in bed with you?"  
  
Kaiba scratched the back of his neck. "Your skin was really cold... We don't heat the entire house, so it's warmer in here." He shrugged. "You wouldn't have want to be on the floor... Would you?"  
  
Jounouchi touched his neck lightly, "It will stop hurting, right?" A little of his control over his voice slipped, and it sounded pained.  
  
Without a word, Kaiba was suddenly up against him. Again. "How much does it hurt?" he asked, touching the wound, a rather nasty looking pair of cuts, with two smaller ones beneath, and two more ever-so-slight skin breaks just under those. Vividly purple was the skin around the bite.  
  
Not even a thought, and Jouno's head lulled to the left, as the touch seemed to lessen the burning sensation. He sighed. "Not much, at the moment. Jes' a minute ago, it felt like I'd put a brand ta my neck." His eye cracked open to see Kaiba's mouth open slightly. "Not yer fault," he said, before Kaiba could say anything. "That was my fault fer touching it so roughly."  
  
"I shouldn't have..."  
  
"You already apologized. I ain't mad. Even if I should be. Yuug' and Honda and Anzu might be, though..." his voice trailed off as a new worry came to mind. "Yuug', Honda, Anzu... School!! Shit!! What time is it?" he asked, wide-eyed.  
  
"4:30. I didn't think you should go to school like that." Kaiba reached around him and lifted him from the floor with an unnatural ease, placing him back on the singed and wet bed before sitting on it himself.  
  
"But...!" He sighed frustratedly. "I had a test today, and I gotta keep my grade up." Then he remembered something. "You might as well tell me all," he murmured, leaning back against the bed.  
  
"All what?"  
  
"Ya know, about this being a vampire, 'cause I get the feeling that it's gonna be important." Jouno grinned. "Let's just say Lady Luck practically handed you an info source. As superstitious as we both know I am, I studied as much as I could on this kind of thing. And you, as we also both know, are probably the least superstitious person in Domino. So, while you would know a bit from yer own experience, I might be able to help you figure things out."  
  
Kaiba let an amused smirk slip onto his face. "You might, but the trouble is, I'm not too sure of anything right now." He sighed, pulling his knees up to his chin, in the manner of a small child.  
  
"Well, how'd you get turned? That way, we can separate fact and fiction."  
  
The smirk broadened slightly. "You really want to know?"  
  
Jouno nodded. "What little I experienced was nothin' like the books..." then he pulled back, "You didn't change me, did you?"  
  
He shook his head, "I think it takes more than that."  
  
~*~  
  
"At first, I thought it was just another stalker. The kind that follows you around, taking pictures all of the time. I had been sent quite a few actually. Being so high profile, one would almost expect it. Different stalkers had different photo techniques. The newest ones were clear, and from angles that I should have known would be impossible for an ordinary human. And as you so kindly put it, I'm probably the least superstitious person in the city.  
  
"It wasn't long before letters started arriving with the photos. Handwritten, with elegant script. Some of the kanji used were old, and rarely used anymore. They were, as I said, beautifully written... but the content was... somehow, distinctly unpleasant. Although, that is something I don't really wish to get into right now.  
  
"So, there were photos and vulgar letters. Nothing that I hadn't dealt with before. The real shocker was when something new came with the letters and photos. An inch thick lock of hair, quite long, and pure black, tied in a blue silk ribbon. Dark blue, and as that letter said, the color of my eyes, and also... the same as Mokuba's. The pictures were slightly different then as well, being mostly of Mokuba. That had me rattled, and I had the hair tested. It was Mokuba's." He sure sounded rattled, even now, though it was obviously quite a while back.  
  
"After that, there were other things sent... Hair wrapped in ribbon; usually the ribbon matched the color of the owner's eyes... Twice, the hair was brown. The ribbon for the first one was brown and the hair somewhat long, the second being so close to black as to make little difference and the hair was quite short. Another long lock of black was tied with emerald green ribbon. One of white, wrapped in brown, and one of gold wrapped in ice blue. Another lock, three colors, and the ribbon was amethyst purple... A long lock of blonde hair, also wrapped in purple. Then, another, much shorter, lock of blonde, closer to a true gold, wrapped in a golden brown ribbon.  
  
"I checked each of them, and found that they all belonged to the only people I regularly associated with. Anzu, Honda, Otogi, Bakura, Malik, Mouto, Mai... and you. Other than work, and my teachers, you are the only people I actually talk to on a semi-regular basis. In accordance, each time the hair was sent, so were pictures of the owners of the hair. Usually, talking to me. And sleeping. It was usually that. Although, for some reason, the photographer seemed to be overtly interested in you. For, even after the hair stopped being sent, there were still pictures of you. Sleeping, or talking with me, and often, fighting with me.  
  
"Then he, as I had decided to think of the person, started sending me books. My favorite's, actually, which are fairly few. Then moving on, I was sent books that turned out to be the favorites of your friends. I was surprised, actually, at the sophistication of the books that you read. I wasn't surprised that Anzu and Otogi read so many romances... but I was surprised that Honda did. It was a shocker though, that Mouto reads... porn. Mai's into mystery novels. Bakura reads history... and I didn't get any of Malik's... I suppose he doesn't read much.  
  
"Of course, that didn't last too long..." Jouno's mouth opened, as if to interrupt, and Kaiba continued, "Hey, hold your horses. You wanted to know, didn't you? Some of this stuff might mean something to you.  
  
"Now, as I was saying. Sending me things. Right. After the books, it was more pictures. Not photos, although he still sent those, but sketches. Sketches of Mokuba, you and me." And Jouno's hand went to his chest, as if asking 'Me?'  
  
"Yes, you. Apparently, he found you interesting. A little too interesting for your good, though. I recall him mentioning in one of the letters that you were next.  
  
"Wait. By the end you'll understand why I didn't say anything to you about it.  
  
"The letters became more vulgar than they had been to start with, and so did the sketches. Then there were the tapes. Video tapes taken at different times of the day and night. I was more than a little disturbed by some of the ones involving you... so I avoided you for a while, to think about it. Because of some of those tapes I had seen you in light that I had never wanted to see you in. I liked to think of you as a comfortably innocent person... Not a knife fighter cum hacker, that had been arrested over twenty times, over things far worse than a little street fighting and stealing." Jounouchi's face paled, suddenly, and to an extreme degree.  
  
"What's wrong? Considering my current situation, I have no reason to be reprimanding you. I doubt that the worse you've done is much different from what I have. We all have reasons. So don't think that I want an explanation, and I won't tell anyone else.  
  
"Back to the story. After that, there was a week where I didn't get anything at all from him, and I was hoping that he had died, or something. Then I started having blackouts. Usually in the evening, when I wasn't around anyone else, and my schedule didn't have anything important. I was confused, but had a hard time thinking at all then.  
  
"It shouldn't have been a surprise when one evening I 'met' a strange man... Tall and dark; I wouldn't be able to describe him well, but that his eyes were ice blue traps. I took my usual stance by glaring directly into his eyes... and remembered that I had done this many times before. Throughout the past week.  
  
"I think I was trapped like that, I couldn't see anything else until my vision started to turn black. Then there was blood in my mouth... And I... no control. I had absolutely no control of myself. Once I realized what I was doing, though... I was latched onto that man's wrist, drinking the blood. I was a bit upset, but I didn't want to let go... And the man called me 'kodomo'. 'Watashi no kodomo,' he said.  
  
"That didn't seem too bad. And then he said that it was time to get the 'other', who I'm assuming was you. I grew angry, realizing that he was the stalker... although I should have realized earlier. I pulled a gun on him..." Jounouchi gave him a rather surprised stare.  
  
"Don't look at me like that, you should know that even though I'm not superstitious, I'm still quite paranoid. So I shot him. I remembered a few things... the how to kill a vampire. They're supposed to hate fire. So I burned the body. It turned to ash a lot faster than it should. I washed the taste of blood from my mouth with coffee that tasted a lot more bitter than coffee should.  
  
"For a couple of days, well, I'm sure you could imagine. I was eating constantly, and was still hungry... The other night though, I figured it out. I don't need a lot of blood, so the person I bite doesn't have to die... But I'm sure it hurts. Your blood was different... spicier."  
  
Jouno's mouth worked for a moment. "Uhm..."  
  
"'Uhm' what?"  
  
"That was a long ass speech. And I guess I understand why you were avoiding me... I've been told that I look kind of scary like that..." Jounouchi touched his neck again. "I'm not going to stay out of school another day, ya know... What did you give them as an excuse?"  
  
"Neck injury..." Kaiba looked sheepish again. "Which is true. I took more blood than I should have..."  
  
"Well," said Jouno with a forced cheer, "it's no good to cry over spilt blood."  
  
A rather distinct sweatdrop formed over the back of the young billionaire- turned-vampire's head.  
  
"How am I gonna hide this?"  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Review Replies:  
  
Kaneda-Shotaro and Yami Tetsuo: Thank you. 


	3. Aw, Bloody Hell

Title: Silver and Cold  
  
Chapter: 3/?  
  
Chapter Title: Aw, Bloody Hell  
  
Current Rating: Still PG-13 (For blood! Blood!!)  
  
Author: Kage Kashu  
  
Archive: FF, Dragon's Lair  
  
Genre: Uhm...  
  
Chapter Summary: The others get to see Jouno's neck wound, and then... Jouno goes for a walk. A long walk. And then there's blood. Lots of blood.  
  
Disclaimer: Don't worry, I don't own them... yet.  
  
Author's notes: Uhm, I'm kinda mean to Jouno in this chapter... And honestly, it didn't turn out as gut wrenching as I had wanted it too...  
  
Warnings: For this chapter? Blood. Lots of blood. And ouchies. And more blood. (Okay, I might be exaggerating...)  
  
Timeline: AUish, after Noa Arc. Some years later.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
~Life  
  
Like the flutter of wings  
  
Feel your hollow bones rushing  
  
Into me  
  
As you're longing to say  
  
So I  
  
I will paint you in silver  
  
I will wrap you in cold  
  
I will lift up your forces aside~  
  
~~Silver and Cold  
  
"So," Honda paced beside Jounouchi, following his beeline to an outside table, the same one at which their other friends sat in various states of relaxation. Said friends waved at them, gesturing them closer. Yuugi and Otogi, sitting opposite of each other, looked to be playing some sort of new game that Jounouchi hadn't even had the chance to try yet.  
  
"So what?" Jouno asked sourly, in a somewhat foul mood. It would have been just fine, if it hadn't been for the fact that he had had a test to take the day before, so it wasn't exactly in the best of moods in which he approached the usual table. Freshmen scattered at his mere presence, so heavy was the dark cloud hanging around him. It seemed that the only one that didn't notice was Honda, who pestered him over the bandage wrapped around his throat.  
  
"So, what happened? Kaiba said 'neck injury'. I was half-expecting a neck brace." Honda leaned right into his face. It was one of those things Jounouchi hated for people to do to him. With their face so close, he couldn't see the rest of them, especially the hands, and it always made him nervous. Not that he didn't trust his friend... it was purely instinctive. "What kind of 'neck injury', anyway? Can I see?"  
  
"No! Can't you jest let it be fer once!?" he yelled, exasperated. Honda was one of those people who could never leave 'well enough' alone. Of course, if it weren't for that, he would never have even become friends with the tall and stocky brunette.  
  
"Not really," murmured Yuugi, looking up from his game with Otogi. "We're your friends, so we worry about you." Huge amethyst eyes glittered at him, and he was reminded of Kaiba's story. One would have thought that some sort of vampire cum stalker would be much more interested in Yuugi than in Jouno.  
  
He deflated. Just a word from Yuugi, and all of the anger just... dissipated. "Yuug'... you should be a diplomat. 'Cause ya know how to ruin someone's anger with just a phrase." It was vaguely frustrating at times, but it seemed to work on almost everybody... so who was he to complain?  
  
Honda scratched his head. "I thought that was Anzu's line, Yuugi." His attention focused back onto Jounouchi. "So..."  
  
Jouno sighed, "You really want to know?"  
  
The denizens of the table leaned forward.  
  
"I had a tragic accident with a blender," he said insincerely.  
  
Yuugi tipped his head to the side. "Somehow, I'm not really sure why, but I don't believe that. You're not a good liar, Jouno-kun."  
  
Jounouchi sat down in the place next to the diminutive duelist. He put his face to his hands, mumbling between his fingers, "You wouldn't believe it, even if I told you... Let's just say I got bitten by a... well, you all believe in ghosts, right?"  
  
Honda leaned in again, eagerly. "Can I see?"  
  
"Fine," Jounouchi muttered, leaning his head back and pulling the bandages up and away from the wound. "Nasty, huh?"  
  
"God, how did that... it looks burnt too," Honda murmured sympathetically. "Burns are terrible, and on the neck... God that had to have hurt like hell..."  
  
Anzu cringed away, wincing, as Yuugi turned a light shade of green. There were several gasps from further down the table, as others leaned forward to get a look. Mai refused to even look at it. "If I wanted to see that kind of thing, I'd watch more TV."  
  
"Ouch," was all Otogi had to say about it.  
  
Jouno pulled the bandages back into place, aware of Kaiba staring at him from the not-so-distant cover of several nearby trees.  
  
Otogi gave him a Cheshire Cat grin, "Looks like Kaiba's worried about you."  
  
"Screw off," said Jouno, without any heat. After Yuugi's 'Friends' declaration, the urge to pick a fight had utterly left him. He stared back at the brunette leaning against a cherry tree. "He's the one who made sure I was okay... and I think I gotta talk to him fer a minute, 'kay, guys? Then I'm leavin'. Took that damned test, and I wanna get out of here."  
  
He was aware of the confused sets of eyes on his back as he walked over to Kaiba.  
  
Kaiba's eyes were on him as well, even as he paused next to him. "So, are you guarding the barrow (1)?"  
  
"What are you smoking?" was Kaiba's acidic reply.  
  
"There's supposed ta be this guy that guards the bodies buried under the sakura." Jounouchi smiled slightly. "You're gonna have to start reading on that kind of thing. The lack of knowledge on such a subject... when the knowledge may be to your advantage... Let's jest say that I'm disappointed in you."  
  
Kaiba snorted softly, then frowned. "You're rarely so sarcastic. Are you feeling well?"  
  
"I'm alright. I'm gonna take off though. I ain't in the mood to hang around here... 'kay?" Jounouchi grinned, to prove that he was just fine.  
  
"What did you tell them?"  
  
"Jest said that they must believe in ghosts, right?" he chuckled, waving at Kaiba as he walked away. "See ya!" he called out, loudly enough for everyone in the near vicinity, and beyond, to hear.  
  
~*~  
  
A silver nimbus of light followed a lanky figure through the woods outside of Domino. It was cold, and he hadn't gone home to get a warmer jacket, so he kept walking at a brisk pace that would keep him warmer than he would be otherwise. He wondered if anyone had told his father what had happened. Then he wondered if his poor overworked father had even noticed that he had been gone for two nights, and tonight would be the third, without so much as a word.  
  
It was one of the things that made Jounouchi regret staying in school. It was against the rules of Domino High to have an after school job (2). That way, he couldn't do anything to help his father pay for everything.  
  
A slight shift in the air, and Jouno thought that he could hear Nox sighing. A brush of icy air ruffled his hair, and the moonlight _rippled_. A shiver ran up his spine as a deeper breath of sound escaped into the night. He nearly jumped out of his skin at the nearby sound of a wolf howling. He growled. "Damn Lizard Brain (3)." He really shouldn't be so jumpy.  
  
He stared up at the moon and scowled. Three moon dogs. Again. And this time, the moon was completely full. If it had meant bad luck that night... The wolf howled again and he set off running in the direction of town. He skidded to a halt as something silvery flashed through the shadows ahead of him. 'Not now, not now!' He backed away as the creature came forward. A huge wolf, three and a half feet at the shoulder, stalked toward him from the shadows. It circled partially around him, eyes lit with an unnatural gleam.  
  
According to his training, it was bad to let the enemy out of sight... ever. He leaned forward, and pulled two of his butterflies (4). He circled with the wolf, unable to properly back away. This creature before him... Whatever it was, there was something about the wolf that was wrong. On such a deep level that the 'Lizard Brain' screamed continuously about it.  
  
The wolf circled closer, then lunged toward him, the unnatural gleam turning to an unholy glow. Everything slowed down, and Jounouchi turned to the side, jamming one of his stainless steel blades into the wolf's chest. A spray of blood, and the butterfly in his other hand went flying. That was a secondary concern though, as he was driven into the ground with such force that he could feel the bones in his shoulder shatter.  
  
A strangled scream wrenched itself from his throat as blood splattered in every direction. His jaw clenched as he swallowed his voice. His head lolled to the side, and he was greeted by the sight of his now ruined shoulder. White shone amongst a river of red-black. Nausea rose and he couldn't breath.  
  
Black creeped around the edge of his vision and his mind blanked but for two things: panic and pain. A flash of bluish light, and then the darkness completely overtook him.  
  
~*~  
  
Kaiba Seto had stopped pacing in his bedroom a little over an hour ago, and was currently pacing down the street. He'd managed to get a hold of Jounouchi Sr., but Jouno's old man hadn't seen him since before the park. Apparently, he hadn't even realized that his son was missing.  
  
Kaiba's feet moved faster, as he followed his nose. Jounouchi had a distinct scent, a lot different than that of most people, and a very pleasant one at that. Yet... he could find the scent in some places, but generally, these were only places that Jouno had hung out at a lot. The scent would fade as soon as he tried to follow it.  
  
He growled when he realized that he stood at the top of a wall... before realizing that he had just run up it with so little trouble that he hadn't even recognized the change in scenery until he stopped. He sighed, plopping down on the roof's edge. Well, there was something to try out. Test his newfound capabilities while looking for the missing blonde.  
  
~*~  
  
It was nearly dawn when he finally caught scent of Jounouchi Katsuya. He was on the edge of town when the sharp scent of blood attacked his senses. It was really strong, and that generally meant that there was a lot of it. Following the scent was as easy as if there had been a visible trail of it, leading back to it's owner. His heart clenched in his chest, a nearly physical pain, at the thought of what could have caused such an amount of blood loss.  
  
In no time he had reached Jouno, and was shocked to see the blonde still standing. He staggered forward, towards Kaiba, though it was obvious that he couldn't see the CEO. His honey-brown eyes were glazed over, in either pain or shock, and his entire left side was drenched with blood. And the right side wasn't in much better condition, unless Kaiba's eyes were wrong. The position of his right shoulder and the entire placement of his right arm just screamed -WRONG!-. Blood covered the right shoulder to a lesser degree, and there was something...  
  
Jouno's dragging feet caught on a limb and he fell forward, right into Kaiba's arms, as the billionaire had charged forward in order to catch him.  
  
This close, the smell of blood was both intoxicating and just plain too much for him to handle. He nearly passed out at the heady smell. And for the third time in as many days, (other than briefly,) he lifted Jounouchi into his arms. He balanced the other teen carefully, pulling out a cell phone, in order to call an ambulance. Then he realized that he could probably get Jounouchi to the hospital before an ambulance had time to reach them.  
  
There was so much blood that the front of his shirt was already soaked with it. With a rather sour smirk, he told the quiescent form in his arms, "Hang on." And then he ran like he never had before.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
(1) The cherry barrow. There is a Japanese superstition that says that the reason a cherry tree's petals are pink is that the tree feeds off of corpses buried beneath it. If one watches Tokyo Babylon, or X/1999, Sakurazuka Seishirou was the "guardian of the cherry barrow", or Sakurazukamori.  
  
(2) In the manga, Anzu had gotten an after school job, and it was mention that it was against school rules.  
  
(3) The part of the brain that holds the instincts.  
  
(4) Butterflies, as in butterfly knives.  
  
~*~  
  
I'm sure that there were reviews, but they aren't showing up on the thingy... So my replies will have to wait til next time. 


	4. What the?

Title: Silver and Cold  
  
Chapter: 4/?  
  
Chapter Title: What the...?  
  
Current Rating: Still PG-13 (For blood! Blood!!)  
  
Author: Kage Kashu  
  
Archive: FF, Dragon's Lair  
  
Chapter Summary: Jounouchi heals a bit, and later has a surprising encounter... with a very big... wolf, who some of you might recognize.  
  
Disclaimer: Don't worry, I don't own them... yet.  
  
Author's notes: Somehow doesn't seem to have much depth to it, this chapter... Oh, well...  
  
Warnings: For this chapter? I dunno... crossdressing? Very minimal warnings on this one.  
  
Timeline: AUish, after Noa Arc. Some years later.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
~Move in life's thrall  
  
I fell asleep for you  
  
Move in life's thrall  
  
I only ask you turn away  
  
Cold in life's thrall  
  
I fall asleep for you  
  
Cold in life's thrall  
  
I only ask you turn  
  
As you seep  
  
Into me  
  
Oh my beautiful one now~  
  
~~Silver and Cold  
  
Kaiba Seto leaned forward, tipping his head to avoid the light seeping through the hospital window. 'Jounouchi...'  
  
The blonde lay unconscious on the pristine white hospital bed. Kaiba had refused to budge from the room when they had been cleaning the wounds and patching them up. They believed that they would have to fix his shoulder surgically. All in all, the total injuries were fairly few. But the extent of them...  
  
His shoulder was shattered. According to the x-rays, not an inch long piece of bone had survived the impact of whatever it was that hit him. Four inches above the elbow was where the damage began, and it extended to his clavicle and shoulder blade. His right shoulder may as well have been put into a meat grinder... and that was just via impact.  
  
His left arm was nearly severed just above the elbow, and most of the blood had come from that injury... and the one on Jounouchi's side, right next to it. They weren't sure, but they believed that they would probably have to sever it. Although, it wasn't bleeding as much now, as they said that the wound seemed to be slightly cauterized. As well as the deeper wound in his side.  
  
His entire left side was covered in small burns, and his left leg was cleanly broken. He had a mild concussion, and would possibly recover... at least partially, from his extensive injuries.  
  
His father had passed out upon hearing the extent of his son's injuries, and was currently seated, still unconscious, on Jounouchi's left side, just across from Kaiba. The stress of work was catching up to the man, with the added shock of his son being found almost dead. Not that Kaiba felt any less stressed.  
  
"Jounouchi..." he sighed, and almost jumped when Jouno's eyes opened blearily. He had been told that Jounouchi wouldn't wake for hours.  
  
"Kaiba?" Jounouchi's eyes slipped back closed. "Why do I keep waking up to your face after I get hurt?"  
  
"Your just lucky," he stated sourly. He leaned closer to the injured blonde. "Do you remember what happened?"  
  
His eyes opened back up, clearer now. "I got attacked. By a huge wolf... I think I lost my knives..."  
  
A slight smirk crossed Kaiba's face at that. "You still had one of them... The nurses had a hell of a time prying it out of your hand. They said that you shouldn't have still been able to grip it with the condition of the rest of your arm..."  
  
"I remember losing one..." Jounouchi tipped his head to the side. "How bad is it, doc?"  
  
Kaiba frowned, "I'm no doctor... but... Your left arm just may have to be amputated. And your right may be useless after this. Severe lacerations on your left side, along with second degree burns all up and down your left..."  
  
"Hey!!" yelled one of the nurses. "You shouldn't tell the patient about that! He needs peace to recover!"  
  
Kaiba glowered.  
  
Jounouchi frowned at her. "All along my left side, huh? Anything else?"  
  
"Concussion," Kaiba murmured, ignoring the nurse's glare.  
  
"I don't feel concussed. And believe you me, I know what concussed feels like." His voice was stronger than it should have been. "Just how many drugs did they give me, anyway? I don't feel no pain..."  
  
The nurse stiffened. "You're not hurting... at all?"  
  
He shook his head slightly. "What the hell'd ya all drug me with anyway? Somethin' new? 'Cause I don't feel lightheaded at all." He lifted his head to get a look at himself. "That's hella lotta bandages..."  
  
She shook her head at him. And Kaiba blinked thoughtfully. He hadn't seen them give Jounouchi anything but antibios yet. "We haven't given you any pain killers...!"  
  
"What?" He tipped his head to the side again. "Then it can't be as bad as it sounded, 'cause I feel fine!" To demonstrate his point, he sat up, and all the doctors and nurses in the room beelined to him to push him back down onto the bed.  
  
Kaiba gaped. The condition Jounouchi had been in... That was _not_ possible. "Jounouchi. How fine is fine?" He was rather proud that his shock didn't carry through to his voice.  
  
"Perfectly fine, just a bit groggy in the muscles, ya know," Jouno answered, trying to push the doctors away.  
  
"Back off."  
  
The doctors and nurses froze at the cold command. "But..." one of them murmured.  
  
"Let him be," Kaiba continued, pushing them away easily. His hand felt for the bandages, and he pressed down. "Do you feel that?"  
  
"Yeah," Jouno frowned, "why shouldn't I?"  
  
He pulled aside the bandages on Jouno's shoulder. The skin was perfectly clear. "..."  
  
"What?" Jounouchi turned his head to look. "Eh? There's nothing wrong with me!" he said cheerfully. Then a serious frown crossed his face. "But I remember hitting that. What about my arm? I remember that too!" Without waiting for Kaiba, he attacked the bandage on his left arm. "Okay... now that's weird."  
  
Kaiba nodded. The arm still had deep angry red gouges... but they looked half-healed. He stepped around the bed to get a better look. And with the worst timing imaginable...  
  
Jounouchi Elder woke up. The man shrieked at the proffered arm, and was backed into the wall before anyone had recovered from the sudden sound. "K...k...kaa... Katsuya!" the man stuttered.  
  
Jouno stared up at his now terrifically pale father. "Eh?" he asked before looking back down at his arm. He poked at the edge of the wound with a surprisingly cold detachment. "It's kinda cool, seein' all the muscles and everything like that, without the skin in the way. But it hurts now. And what's worse... it itches like a mother fucker!!!" He glanced up at one of the nurses, in a pathetic fashion. "Can I have some aspirin? Morphine? A mallet? A grenade?"  
  
The woman pulled out a needle. "Alright then..."  
  
"Eep!!" Jouno jumped up and away from the nurse. "Nonononononononono... no needles," he said, pinning himself against the wall, right next to his father, "needles are bad."  
  
"Well, no pain reliever if you can't handle a needle," she said succinctly.  
  
"No needles?" Jouno asked, sounding relieved.  
  
"Sit down," the woman ordered.  
  
Cautiously, he sat back on the bed. Kaiba noted, with amusement, the sidelong, paranoid glances aimed at the woman.  
  
"I'll need to reclean the wound, and rebandage it. Then we can check to see if you still have any other wounds." She began her careful inspection immediately, removing the now useless bandages (including the one around his neck), and retying the one Jounouchi had ripped off after cleaning the half-healed gouges beneath it.  
  
After that, Kaiba let it be known that the bill should be sent to him, and Jounouchi was released, to everyone's mild surprise.  
  
Outside, the blonde glanced at his father. "Uhm..."  
  
The man drooped slightly, then stiffened. "What the hell have you been up to lately, that you get so horribly injured so early in the morning, and then are suddenly almost completely healed?"  
  
Jouno scratched the back of his neck. "I dunno. I was walkin' jes' outsida town and I got attacked. By one big ass wolf... Next thing I know, I'm in the hospital with Kaiba lookin' at me like his kitty died." He paused, turning to stare at Kaiba. "Should you be outside?"  
  
"I'm fine," Kaiba murmured. "I've already learned to wear a lot of sunblock." He casually pushed his sunglasses higher up his nose.  
  
Jouno glanced around. "Aw, shit."  
  
His father lifted an eyebrow. "What?"  
  
"I'm missing school!!"  
  
~*~  
  
Mai Valentine leaned forward to put the finishing flair to her creation. "Stop squirming, or I won't be able to get it right!" The boy stilled, and she deftly applied the mascara. "You really are a work of art, even if I do say so myself." She carefully puffed the pale pink blouse, moving on to the semi-short black skirt. "It might not work on him, you know."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"He's been living around you for several years. And I know you aren't just doing this to make him feel foolish, either. You're doing it for blackmail. Jounouchi is almost never embarrassed about the things he does, so I'll just say tough luck." Mai tossed her hair back. "If you hurt him, though, Ishtaar, you'll be in worse trouble than you can even imagine." She laughed to herself. "I just thought of another reason it may not work... He's got the hots for Kaiba, as well as little me can tell."  
  
"He likes Kaiba?" Malik's (the Hikari) eyes widened. "Oh, well. Maybe I'll just do it to Honda..." He sounded so disappointed, that Mai almost would have thought that the boy had a crush...  
  
~*~  
  
Currently, Honda was jumping up and down, holding Jounouchi in a bear hug. "We were so worried!!"  
  
"Ack!" Jouno shook his head. "Let go! Yer squeezin' my arm!"  
  
Kaiba glared from the shade of the sakura trees (1) on the other end of the yard.  
  
Jounouchi noticed this when Honda finally put him down. "Looky, I'm still very much in the land of the living... Kaiba!" he called, to get everyone's attentions off of him. "C'mon over here, and stop guarding the tree!!"  
  
Kaiba glared for a moment longer before complying. He didn't really want to... but if the pup asked...  
  
Honda grabbed Jounouchi's wrist, pulling the jacket down so that he could see the bandages that he'd been able to feel underneath the school uniform. "What did you do here?" He asked, eyebrows raised.  
  
"I got attacked by a wild animal, in the woods," Jouno answered honestly, if a little distractedly, as Kaiba was now standing right behind Honda. "Kaiba? What're you doing?"  
  
Kaiba shrugged, as Honda jumped to the side, surprised that Kaiba had gotten behind him so easily. "Wondering how much your arm's healed already."  
  
"It can't have healed that much... It still hurts." He felt at the bandage, before undoing it carefully. "I don't think I need the bandage any more, now..."  
  
Kaiba shook his head as Honda leaned in to get a look. "Now that's nasty... And you got it this morning?" He shivered. "There sure is something weird going on here... I mean, weirder than normal."  
  
Kaiba gave a disgusted snort. "Considering our lives, normal should be taken as unusual."  
  
"Speaking of normal being abnormal," Honda said, "You're acting really normal. Which is abnormal for you... What's up with that?"  
  
Both Kaiba and Jounouchi stared at him for a moment, before Kaiba spoke again. "I don't feel like being abnormal right now. Because I'm as abnormal as it comes at the moment."  
  
"No kidding," Jounouchi laughed.  
  
Kaiba snorted again. "At least I'm not the instant healer."  
  
"It couldn't have been instant," Jouno kicked the table, sitting next to some of his other friends. "Not with how much blood was on yer jacket..."  
  
"What? Do you think you owe me for dry cleaning or something?"  
  
Jounouchi shook his head. "No... It's just... I don't get it... What happened? I must have missed a lot of it if you found me trying to walk back home!"  
  
Kaiba nodded. "It's quite likely that the injuries had been worse."  
  
"Ack, don't make me think about it..." Jouno propped his feet up on a nearby table, completely unaware of all of the curious eyes. He peeked at Kaiba. "Ya know... If you told someone about that you would have a lot less to worry about."  
  
Kaiba shook his head. "Right. No thank you."  
  
"Yeah," Jouno glanced over those who he sat next to. Yuugi, Ryou, Malik in a dress... What? Why was Malik wearing a dress? He jumped up and leaned forward. "Yo, man. What's up with the dress?"  
  
Everyone leaned back when he jumped, surprised at the speed with which he had done it. Malik stared, wide eyed, into the face of the other blonde. "What?" He lowered his voice out of the range for anybody not as close as Jounouchi to catch, "How'd you know?"  
  
"Wha? C'mon, man, it's obvious!" Unconsciously, he lowered his voice to match the other's.  
  
"Nobody else knew."  
  
Jounouchi blinked. "Really?" He hadn't realized that his friends were so dense. Then he said so.  
  
"Just pretend that I used to be a tomboy, okay? Because they already know you know me."  
  
"Uhm... Okay." He hopped back into his previous position. "Wake me up when it's time to get back to class," he ordered, closing his eyes to nap. The last thing he heard was what sounded like Malik hitting on Honda. And Honda flirting right back. His friend's were dense...)  
  
~*~  
  
Jouno yawned. Upon opening his eyes, he discovered it was dark. Why was he outside? He sat up, stretching. "When did I get out here?" he wondered aloud.  
  
A soft voice answered. "You've been out here since this morning's school break."  
  
His eyes widened. "Aaah!! Damnit!"  
  
"It's too late to be so upset about it, wolf."  
  
"Eh?" Jounouchi glanced around. "Where are you?"  
  
"Right behind you."  
  
"Iiiiiiiiyyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!" Jouno fell as he turned to face the presence at his back. "What are you?" he asked, once he calmed down for a moment. He was now laying on his back, in the grass next to the table.  
  
"I'm what you'll soon be, young wolf," the creature that stood above him was pitch black, and as it said, it had the look of a wolf. "It's surprising that you're alive, little wolf. That one you met last night was maddened by the moon. It happens sometimes."  
  
"Why do you keep calling me that?"  
  
"On next full moon, you'll be amongst my brothers..." it sighed, sounding sad, somehow. "But we're split up, it's depressing. Gangs of us, tearing up the streets. Weaklings." The huge wolf snorted. "I think... you remind me of someone. You'll change things." It sighed again. "If you don't die first. Live by the sword, you know. Of course, I prefer using something bigger." It chuckled. "If you're ever in the South Shop sect... come by my shop. Sagara's Antiques. Kid like you might enjoy it. Ask for Sano."  
  
The wolf leapt from the table, and Jounouchi could see the red strip of cloth above its eyes. Less than a moment later, it was running for the trees in utter silence.  
  
"That was interesting," said a familiar voice, not too far away.  
  
"Kaiba! Why the hell didn't anyone wake me up!!"  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
(1) As mention before, sakura and cherry trees are the same thing.  
  
~*~  
  
I'm very disappointed in ff.n, 'cause it won't show me my reviews...... I'm so sorry to those of you who have, and when I can see that you have, I'll thank you all! 


	5. Letters From Hell?

Title: Silver and Cold  
  
Chapter: 5/?  
  
Chapter Title: Letters From Hell?  
  
Current Rating: R (Methinks)  
  
Author: Kage Kashu (aka Lavender Saiyajin (aka YumeRyu))  
  
Archive: FF, Dragon's Lair, AFF  
  
Chapter Summary: Jouno runs in the park and visits a friendly wolf. Upon getting 'home' he discovers a letter on his bed.  
  
Disclaimer: Don't worry, I don't own them... yet. Or the songs "Silver and Cold" "Into the Darkness" or "Seven Nation Army".  
  
Author's notes: I've decided I like the beat to the song Seven Nation Army, and the song and music of Toxic (even though it is Brittany Spears... Maybe she's growing up?). I already knew I liked Silver and Cold, and Into the Darkness.  
  
Warnings: For this chapter? A very naughty piece of writing that Jouno gets his hands on. Very nice... Yum yum. *drools*  
  
Timeline: AUish, after Noa Arc. Some years later.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
~Floating up  
  
I'm floating higher  
  
Falling to the stars  
  
Below  
  
I feel them beneath me  
  
Give away  
  
Earth below  
  
I feel around me  
  
Echoes of the world  
  
Dissolve  
  
This feels like a dream now  
  
Then it calls  
  
And it feels so real  
  
And then light fades away~  
  
~~Falling Into Darkness  
  
During the next couple of weeks, Jounouchi got used to staying at Kaiba's place, as the elder Jounouchi knew that he was unable to keep track of his son, and the elder Kaiba brother practically forced Jouno to stay there. He'd been given excuse notes to hand in to the teachers for his days absent, and things were mostly back to normal. Well, aside from Kaiba being a vampire, and actually being nice to him. And telling him that he smelled funny. Now that was rude.  
  
He didn't smell funny. Mokuba seemed to think Jouno's staying there was a great thing... And that Jounouchi would want to play video games like he usually did. But Jouno... he wanted to be outside. So, Kaiba had him take Mokuba to the park that Sunday. Not a terrible thing, but generally he didn't want to have to make certain someone else stayed within sight while he ran around. It wasn't too hard though. As Mokuba didn't feel like running around after the first fifteen minutes, Jouno felt free to run as he pleased.  
  
Funny thing, that. He had never really been that interested in running in general, but now it felt like the only way to get rid of his excess energy. After a few more laps of the park, he ran back over to where Mokuba was, flopping down beside him in the grass. "Wanna go visit an antique shop?" he asked the black haired teenager.  
  
"Depends on what kind of antiques they have," Mokuba answered.  
  
"That wolf told me to check it out." He had related the bit with the wolf to Mokuba and his elder brother after he found out that Mokuba had also been told about his elder brother's being a vampire. "If I had some supernatural beastie telling me to visit it, it had better be good, ne?"  
  
Mokuba agreed. And so, after Kaiba was informed, they were on their way. "I'm kinda surprised that you didn't believe what he had said," Mokuba murmured. "Why wouldn't you?"  
  
Jouno stretched, "Well, if he was right, I still gotta couple of more weeks to be in denial, right? So I can be in denial until then. And then... then we see."  
  
"So, what are you gonna do if he was right?" Mokuba persisted.  
  
"I dunno, Mokuba. Run around? Hopefully not hurt anybody. 'Cause werewolves are supposed to be uncontrollable." He pondered that for a moment. "And that's why I don't want it to happen, I guess."  
  
"Well, he wasn't raging and out of control, was he? He stopped and talked to you, almost like a human would." Mokuba kicked a can that lay on the street's edge, and with perfect aim, it flew up... hitting a cop on the back of the head.  
  
"Don't look too innocent, Mokuba, or he'll know it was you," Jounouchi advised, giving an amused snicker along with everyone else.  
  
Mokuba snickered too, trying to muffle it when the cop looked at him. "Was that good?"  
  
"Yeah. That was good. Now all we gotta do is look for a sign that says Sagara's..." Jouno stepped up to the still annoyed cop. "Heya!" He said cheerfully, to get the cop's attention.  
  
The thin faced man scowled at him. "What do you want, aho (1)?"  
  
"Hey, now that was rude," Jouno scowled, "I was just wonderin' if you know where Sagara's Antiques is."  
  
"Feh. You know Sagara? If not, avoid the place. One of the local gangs practically lives in there." The man scowled down at him. "Are you part of the gang?"  
  
"Me?" Jounouchi asked, derisively, "In a gang? I gave up that crap years ago. Now, do you know where that store is?" He scowled back at the man. "Or should I jes' ask someone else?"  
  
The man snorted, "Ch'." He pointed at a crappy little building across the street. "Onward then."  
  
"Thanks," Jouno said in a cheerful turnabout of mood. "C'mon Mokuba."  
  
"Shouldn't we be careful?"  
  
"He seemed nice enough, Sano did... and the cop was an asshole, even if he had good intensions." Jounouchi casually crossed the street, the shorter teen in tow behind him.  
  
"Hey, wait a minute..." Mokuba looked up at the building. "Damn. That's gotta be the crappiest piece of archite... Hey!" He was cut off as Jouno jerked him forward.  
  
"C'mon!" He pushed the door aside, and listening to the creaking noise it made, had to admit that Mokuba was right.  
  
"Hello!" called a cheerful voice from behind the register. The voice was similar to that of the black wolf... yet the form wasn't. He was tall, but not too tall, with black hair that stood up like the feathers on a chicken's ass. And he burst out laughing when Jouno said so. "Ah, the kid from a couple weeks ago... Great to see you!"  
  
"So, you were the wolf..." Jounouchi nodded to himself. "Yer voice was a little deeper though..."  
  
"Eh?" the man sounded surprised. "Oh... I guess it does that." He shrugged. "You don't have any pack affiliations, do you?"  
  
"Huh?" Jouno blinked. "No..."  
  
"Jounouchi," Mokuba asked, "what about us?"  
  
"I suppose... Then that would mean I do, eh?" Jounouchi grinned. "All my friends, that would be. I don't care what they are... even the Yamis."  
  
Sano chuckled, "I meant a wolf pack."  
  
"Nope. I hunt best alone," Jouno's grin became a tad more evil. "Why?"  
  
"Because, with an attitude like yours, you'll end up in one," he leaned to look Jouno in the eye. "And you'll probably wind up leading. The boys here... Want me to make you part of my pack... But I think it's best to let you do what you want. Just... be careful. Up until you change, you're totally vulnerable. The other packs'll sense the change, and you won't have the power to take them on. With us... it's a terrible thing to have one not of our pack living in our territory, okay? Your school's in my pack's territory, and they aren't allowed to... Forcibly convert." Sano sighed, "If you scent something not human, you'd be best off to run..." He leaned closer, sniffing. "Unless it's the vampire you've been staying with."  
  
Mokuba giggled, then covered his mouth. "Oops."  
  
Sano glanced down at him. "You live with the vampire too?"  
  
Mokuba nodded.  
  
"Good. Then we don't have to worry about you talkin' about it."  
  
Jounouchi chuckled. "Some of my best friends are dead."  
  
Mokuba choked on another giggle, and Sano grinned, winking. "I see dead people," he deadpanned.  
  
Jounouchi burst out, laughing harder than before. "God, that's great... I've gotta say that to... Yuug'... or Honda... Or Bakura's Yami... Either Malik..."  
  
"Seto would probably enjoy hearing that too," Mokuba added.  
  
Jouno continued chuckling, glancing over to some of the things on the wall. "Izzat whatcha meant by 'something bigger'?"  
  
"Hmm? Oh, that. Zanboto (2). A very lovely piece of work, isn't she?" Sano grinned proudly at it.  
  
"It's huge," murmured Mokuba, for the first time noticing the gigantic sword.  
  
"I'd prefer something smaller," Jouno said, cheerfully.  
  
"Katana (3)?"  
  
"Nope."  
  
"Wakazashi (4)?"  
  
"Nope."  
  
"Kodachi (5)?"  
  
"Nope."  
  
"Uhm..."  
  
"Butterflies. I lost mine. One to that wolf, and one to the hospital. You got any?" Jounouchi leaned toward the taller brunette.  
  
"Surprisingly, I do... Check it," he said, moving over to show off some smaller knives in a glass case.  
  
"Wow," said Jouno. "I don't have enough money fer any of that..." he sighed sadly, leaning closer to the case.  
  
Sano smirked, "Take two. On me. Consider it recompense for one of my pack harming you."  
  
"Wha?"  
  
"He was part of my pack. He was supposed to have been confined." Sano sighed. "He went moon mad one year, and has had to be confined each full moon ever since."  
  
Jouno scratched the back of his head. "Did he survive?"  
  
Sano shrugged. "We're not sure. We found a huge blood trail, but it was mostly yours... And we couldn't find him... or you, for that matter."  
  
"These," Jounouchi said suddenly. "If yer gonna give'em ta me... I want these two."  
  
Sano glanced down and nearly fell. "Those are... How did those get in there? Ah... I did say... Ack..." He shook his head violently. "Take them," he finally sighed. "They weren't selling anyway." He had a distinct pout to his face.  
  
Jouno grinned. "Awesome." He flipped the blades out expertly. Razor fine, and absolutely gorgeous. "Perfect size, too." He flipped them shut, then open again. "Whose eyeballs didja hafta gouge ta get these anyway?"  
  
The man shrugged. "Nobody's... the guy was already dead."  
  
Jounouchi's eyes widened. "Eep!!" He almost gave them back, but decided to ask "Who was he?"  
  
"Some pale-haired man with alotta scars. Looked like he'd been fighting all his life." Sano shrugged again. "The people nearby said that he was insane, and drunk most of the time..."  
  
"Any of them give him a name?"  
  
"One-eye."  
  
"I... think I know who that was... And if he was..." Jouno flipped the knives shut again, thrusting them back toward Sano. "He's gonna haunt me if I take them!"  
  
Mokuba frowned, "Don't be stupid." He smacked Jouno on the back of the head. "He's not haunting Sano, is he?"  
  
Sano shrugged. "Not that I've noticed. But no matter how hard I've tried to sell those, nobody wanted them. I think," he grinned, "they were waiting for you."  
  
Jounouchi stared at the knives in his hands. "You think so?"  
  
"If he was haunting this place, all he was doing was giving a creepy feeling to those who looked at them. I saw a few people shudder when I pointed them out..." Sano scratched the back of his head. "So, he wasn't being a malevolent ghost, if he was here..."  
  
"Okay then," Jouno pocketed the knives immediately, with a sheepish grin.  
  
"You're a funny one," Sano chuckled. "Well, you had better go, I've gotta close shop for a meeting."  
  
"See ya," Jouno said, grabbing Mokuba, and waving on the way out.  
  
~*~  
  
"Seto's off on a trip," called Mokuba, from down the hall.  
  
Jounouchi glanced around his new room, grinning cheerfully. He was in an unabashedly good mood. He danced around the room for a moment, bobbing his head to music only he could hear. "Ba dudabumbumdabumbum... A seven nation army couldn't hold me back... And if I catcha comin' back my way... And the beat is coming from my bones..." He danced in a circle around the bed, before hopping onto it. Keeping to the beat, he jumped, until he noticed something on it that hadn't been there before.  
  
"Hmm?" he continued bobbing his head, even as he dropped to a seated position with a bounce. "What's this?" A letter? From Kaiba?  
  
He bobbed his head to the beat a moment longer, opening the envelope. Once it was open, he had to stop bobbing his head, in order to read it. Flowing kanji greeted his eyes, and he was mildly surprised at the spidery loveliness of the script.  
  
'Katsuya  
  
I would dearly love to inform thee that thy Kaiba is currently out of this country, as I know that thou wouldst go to him almost immediately with this. Thou may not use the telephone in order to reach him, and sweet little Mokuba shall be left out of this.'  
  
"What the...?" Jounouchi's eyes narrowed on the paper.  
  
'Mention this at all to the boy, and he shall be dead by the stroke of the twelfth hour.'  
  
"Fuck," he cursed, continuing to read anyway. "Nothing I can do. Damnit."  
  
'I was greatly grieved to learn of thine encounter with a werewolf. For the time being, thou shall remain unharmed, but once I reach thee, I shall do unto thee, as I had planned to do unto young master Kaiba. Once I find the were that took thee, it shall be destroyed. Then I shall come for thee. If thou dost wish it, tell young master Kaiba when he comes back that he forgot something. The night of his return is the time I come for thee.'  
  
Jounouchi swallowed, and tipped the envelope, watching as several pieces of paper fell from it. He shakily lifted one paper, discovering that it was a photo. Of himself. Laughing and waving, generally carefree. Another photo... yesterday, he had gotten into a fight with Honda, and somehow, Kaiba had gotten dragged into it. The picture showed them rather entangled with each other, but laughing... except Kaiba, but he was smirking. A third picture was of him sleeping... in this very room.  
  
He swallowed again, lifting another paper. This one turned out to be a sketch. Once it registered what it was of, his hand shot to his nose, trying to control the inevitable nosebleed. His face, he knew to be a vivid shade of red. He fell to his back, to better control the blood trying to flow from his nose. He pinched said nose, lifting the picture again. How this man knew how he looked naked was beyond him, but it was a good representation. And somehow, he believed that the one who sent this to him had seen more of Kaiba than of him. Funny thing was, Kaiba was in that picture too... And the positions.  
  
Jounouchi swallowed again, this time, for entirely different reasons. He picked through the other papers until he found one he hadn't looked at yet. He breathed deeply for several moments before looking at the new paper. Which was also a sketch. Just as vulgar as the last, this one involved... biting, from Kaiba's part. Considering the pain involved, that shouldn't be sexy.  
  
But it was. And once he ascertained that that was the last one, he put them back in the envelope, breathing heavily. "Damnit. That just ain't right," he muttered.  
  
"Are you alright?" Mokuba asked from the door, and Jouno nearly jumped a mile.  
  
"Eh? Oh, I'm fine!" He grinned, to prove it. A rather weak grin, but it had fooled many in it's day.  
  
"Are you sure? You look a little flushed." Mokuba struggled with his rather wild hair, to put it into a ponytail.  
  
"I'm fine," he thought for a moment. "When's yer brother gonna be back?"  
  
"He's supposed to be gone all week." Mokuba finished tying his hair back. "Why? What's up?"  
  
Jouno grinned, "Jes' wonderin'. Wanted ta ask 'im sommat."  
  
Mokuba's eyes narrowed. "Where'd you use to live?"  
  
"Wha?"  
  
"You have a really heavy accent sometimes. Where'd you use to live?"  
  
Jounouchi blinked. "Uhm... When I was real little, we lived in New York. We moved back here just before Shizuka was born. Although, I don' think that'd affect my accent much. I was still learnin' how ta talk then."  
  
"So, you know Aego (6)?" Mokuba asked curiously.  
  
"Eh? A little. Why?"  
  
"Curious."  
  
The short brunette left the room with that, and Jouno fell backward onto the bed. "Me now, eh? Am I gonna hafta deal wit dis all week?" he growled at the ceiling, before throwing a pillow at it. "Wall feck you then, Mr. Too-Good-Ta-Leave-A-Feckin'-Name! Ch'."  
  
~*~  
  
'Katsuya...  
  
'Thy reaction to my simple sketches was most amusing, and I had to fight the urge to come to thee right then. Lovely boy. Yes, even now, as thou dost read, I watch. I wouldst not be totally adverse to thy previous suggestion, as mine hands tingle with the urge to touch thee. The lovely arch of thy back, such fragile limbs, soft and supple, that beautiful blonde hair, brushing down past gorgeous honey gold eyes. Who wouldst not wish to touch thee? To take that sweet body, running one's hands down the firm, supple flesh of your back, to pet the babyfine hairs at the base of thy spine. To run one's hands between the hard muscle of thy thighs.'  
  
The paper crumpled in Jounouchi's hands. His teeth bared in a malevolent grin as he hissed, "Bastard." Fighting the urge to just shred the paper, he began reading again.  
  
'..to pet the babyfine hairs at the base of thy spine. To run one's hands between the hard muscle of thy thighs.'  
  
Oops. Already read that.  
  
'To touch the supple firm curve of thy ass.'  
  
He crumpled the paper again. He couldn't read this. It was somebody fantasizing about him. That was just wrong. And it was a dead guy! Probably an old dead guy. Could be ages older than him, literally! "Fuck this," he muttered, once again beginning to read.  
  
'It would be the greatest of pleasures to watch young master Kaiba doing this to thee.'  
  
So, this guy was an ancient voyeur, huh? He wanted to watch Kaiba... touch Jounouchi. That was creepy. "Yeah right, feckin' touch this, will ya!" he growled to himself, before continuing on down the paper.  
  
'To watch his hands move up thy belly, to thy chest; to see thine hands gripping his hair as his mouth'  
  
"I can't read this!" he squeaked. "Perv!" he yelled at the window. "Feckin' perv. That's just... just... Fuck. I don't know what it is, but it's wrong!" He buried his face in his blankets, hiding the rather intense flush on his face. After a few minutes, his eyes found the paper again, out of a sense of morbid curiosity.  
  
'as his mouth works over thee. Too see thy face flush with need, and thine hands clasp his hair even more tightly.'  
  
Jounouchi swallowed, then licked his suddenly dry lips.  
  
'Dost thou wonder that he wouldst bite thee? Wouldst thou wish it so? Sweet dreams, young wolf.'  
  
"Fuck," Jouno gasped. "Did he have to say that?" He glanced at the photos, which weren't much different than before, and then his hands found the sketches. He shakily pulled one out, and sure enough, it matched the description in the letter. It was of him, leaning backward, in a somewhat wanton position, one of Kaiba's hands on his chest, the other on his thigh, as the other boy looked up at him from between his legs.  
  
He pinched his nose again. What had he ever done to deserve this?  
  
The other sketch was just as bad, with the somehow provocative 'biting' mentioned in the letter. He groaned, flopping backwards on the bed momentarily. "Mother fucker," he stated succinctly. "I need a cold shower now."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
(1) Aho. Kind of like punk. Almost cursing.  
  
(2) Zanboto. (sp?) Horse killer sword. Heavy as hell, too big to be used like a normal blade (Even Sephiroth would have trouble with that). Has a very long handle. Sanosuke uses one early on in Rouruni Kenshin. And that just shows how feckin' strong this guy is.  
  
(3) Katana. You had better know what that is. *grins* No, really. It's a fairly normal sized Japanese sword. Not to be unsheathed unless one intends on killing, generally, by samurai code.  
  
(4) Wakazashi. Japanese short sword. Used for everything that the Katana and Kodachi aren't. Including chopping wood for one's fire.  
  
(5) Kodachi. Japanese dagger. Used for Harakiri, ritualistic suicide.  
  
(6) Aego. Japanese for English. The language. Japanese is Nihongo.  
  
~*~  
  
Still can't see the reviews, even though I know the little bastards are there... Damn you, FF.N!!! Don't do this to me!! 


	6. Getting Booky

Title: Silver and Cold  
  
Chapter: 6/?  
  
Chapter Title: Getting Booky  
  
Current Rating: R (Methinks)  
  
Author: Kage Kashu  
  
Archive: FF, Dragon's Lair, AFF  
  
Chapter Summary: Jouno gets another letter, then goes back home to get some manga. He's accosted by his father and uncles, then tells Mokuba a bedtime story. I took some liberties with the "mythology", and none of it's really true.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own any of these wonderful characters... but I really really love them...  
  
Author's notes: For a bit in this chapter I refer to Jounouchi as Katsuya, as there is a prolonged scene with some of his family. (Crossover characters for father and uncles...)  
  
Warnings: For this chapter? Gory letter. Crossing-over and reincarnation. ^^^^ The reincarnated will be a bit different than what you know them as (for one thing, they're older), because they've lived different lives.  
  
Crossover Shows: Yugioh, Rurouni Kenshin, Fushigi Yuugi (reincarnate), and (unknown)  
  
Timeline: AUish, after Noa Arc. Some years later.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
~Darkness pulls me away  
  
I'm falling into nowhere  
  
I can't see anything  
  
I want it  
  
I want it over now  
  
Echoes lurking again  
  
I'm falling into darkness  
  
I can't feel anything  
  
I guess it  
  
I guess it's over now~  
  
~~Falling Into Darkness  
  
'My Katsuya  
  
'Thy tormenter is soon to reach his end. Every drop of blood thou hast shed into his mouth shall be paid for tenfold in his. As my gift to thee, brought to thee for thine own pleasure. The mere thought alone is enough to make me tingle with desire, to see deep red blood darkening those sweet lips. Dripping down thy chin, down thy neck, to the deep gouges, still fresh in the soft flesh of thy throat. How canst one resist?  
  
'The wolf's bones shall be torn from his body, silver imbedded into his flesh. Banshee shrieks of anguish from his throat. Thou wouldst not wish to hear such agony, wouldst thee? Once I've turned thee, thou wouldst likely enjoy it. Possibly even rip his bones out thineself, with those lovely scarred hands. Once thou wert reminded of his trespasses against thee, thou wouldst take to his throat so quickly.  
  
'It would have been a beautiful thing to have witnessed, when young master Kaiba had thee. Unfortunately, I missed this, but the mark on thy neck is all the proof I need, to attest to it. Even if that weren't enough, thine aura reeks of his. Could it be that I had given him too much power? I do believe that the Childe has become a rival of his Master.  
  
'Let us play a riddle game. What did young master Kaiba do wrong, in his attempted disposal of me?'  
  
"Well," said Jouno, leaning back. "That one's easy. He didn't scatter the ashes. That's the only true way to completely be rid of a vampire. Burn them to ashes, then scatter the remains." He propped his feet up on the desk. He was more than mildly disturbed by it all. But he had four more days until Kaiba came back.  
  
In his not-so-humble-opinion, this dude was completely cracked. Sure, the werewolf had bitten him, but the wolf was mad, what could one expect? He glanced out the window, sighing. "You need a therapist, man. Almost as creepy as that one guy, in that manga I was reading last year." He grinned suddenly. "I wonder if I still have that? I think I'll go home, and see if I do... If not, I can just pick up some other manga... or maybe some regular books..."  
  
Thus said, he hopped expertly out the window, dropping the three stories and landing with ease. He grinned, saluting the trees, completely aware that he was still being watched. He danced about for a moment, before breaking into a jog. He'd be out and back, so quickly that Mokuba wouldn't even know that he had gone.  
  
~*~  
  
It was down near the arcade, nearly a block from his own residence that he ran into her. Her shocked exclamation, then her enthusiastic hug startled the hell out of him. "Mai! Mai! Put me down Mai!"  
  
The woman dropped him. "Sanosuke told me all about it! He said Ashitare had gotten to you..." She moved around to face him. "I'm surprised you survived that. He was one of the strongest of Sagara's pack."  
  
Jounouchi pulled back, surprised. "You... How are you connected to that?"  
  
"I'm Head Bitch," she stated proudly.  
  
He blinked. Trust Mai to proudly call herself a bitch. "I knew you were a bitch, but... What?"  
  
"Head Bitch. Of Sagara's pack." She glowered at him impatiently. "You are so dense."  
  
"Well, I gotta go," he said, cheerfully, "Pickin' up some crap from my place."  
  
"Jouno... Wait!"  
  
Too late. He was already running down the block, to his dad's place. His home was a place to avoid, usually, but he really wanted that manga... Hopefully, his father was over at his brother's or his partner's place. Or the bar. Just as long as he wasn't home...  
  
~*~  
  
Jouno pushed the door open, hearing a soft thump as something fell against the wall. Huh? Musta left something on the table behind the door. He took a couple of steps into the hall, frowning as he tripped over something. He fumbled for the light switch.  
  
Once he could see, he groaned. Oh no. His dad was on a rip.  
  
~*~  
  
Books littered the floor, and every other available surface of the Jounouchi household. Jounouchi elder, also known as Jounouchi Tasuki (1), ran across his apartment with one, hoping against hope that it was the one he needed. "How about this one, Oniisan?"  
  
His older brother leaned over. "I think this one's the one we were looking for."  
  
"Chiriko... (2)" Tasuki groaned. "All that trouble, and you say no?"  
  
A laugh from the other occupant of the room. "I think that we should keep it out, just in case Chiriko's wrong... like that'll ever happen."  
  
Jounouchi Chiriko chuckled, "Kouji (3), stop teasing him. We may need that book." He flipped through the pages of the book in his hands. "Breaking curses: Spring of a drowned yeti riding a yak holding a fish in one hand and a crane in the other... How do you drown a fish? Nevermind." He shook his head, deciding not to encourage Chang Kouji's regular fish rant. "Breaking curses: Exorcism of a demon tree... Okay then... Breaking curses: Fairy dust. You know, I don't think this is the one we need..." He threw the book in the general direction of the door.  
  
A pained yelp startled all of them, and before the figure in the doorway had any say in the matter, three paper wards were stuck onto his face... with glue. Kouji pulled back. "Katsuya-chan! What are you doing home so late?"  
  
"I came back for some manga," the blonde boy grumbled, pealing the paper from his face. "What are you guys doing here?"  
  
"We live here," Kouji answered.  
  
Katsuya frowned. "Uncle Kouji, you, by all means, have your own place. I repeat, what are -you- doing here?"  
  
"My rent went out six months ago," the black haired man admitted. "I'm like, seriously in debt, here. They kicked me out a few weeks ago."  
  
Chiriko nodded. "He stayed with me, until I too, was unceremoniously dumped back into the streets."  
  
Katsuya groaned. "Why does Dad have to be the responsible one?"  
  
Tasuki scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, why do I have to be the responsible one? I'm the one with the temper!"  
  
Total silence.  
  
Katsuya shook his head. "Nevermind. I'm jes' sayin' that, of the lot of you, he should be the least responsible... And the only thing he -can- keep his mind on is his job! That's why Mom left. And something about 'not touching her the way you used to'..."  
  
His father and uncles gave him the most horrified looks he had seen in weeks. His day was complete. Tasuki's mouth worked silently, finally he managed, "How'd you know about that?"  
  
"Paper thin walls." He kicked over a stack of books. "What are ya lookin' for this time?"  
  
"Werewolf cures for my little Katsuya!" chirped his father. Chiriko and Kouji nodded in agreement.  
  
"Didn't we go over this last time?"  
  
Tasuki and Kouji stared at each other momentarily, "Where'd you put it!?" they each asked, simultaneously.  
  
"Besides, I got worse problems now."  
  
"Huh?" asked Tasuki. "What's that?"  
  
Katsuya sighed, "In the letter, he didn't say that I couldn't tell you guys... just not Mokuba... so, here it goes. I think I'm being stalked by an evil perv vampire. And I think I may be taking too much after you."  
  
"Wha? What's that supposed ta mean?" Tasuki grumbled.  
  
"Things... Well, I kinda went pop on that wolf."  
  
"Eh? You punched it?"  
  
"No... more like, boom boom, where's Smokey?"  
  
Tasuki grinned. "I knew you weren't a null! But what about this stalker vampire?" he asked, casually popping his knuckles. Behind him, Kouji and (surprisingly) Chiriko were doing the same.  
  
Katsuya turned around, fishing the envelopes from his pocket. "Not the letters," he mumbled, "not the sketches... I'll just give them the photos..." He stiffened as he felt a malignant presence behind him, and hollered as two sets of hands dove for the papers, the third set holding his arms to his side. "Let go!! I don't want you guys to see that!" He kicked at them, trying to get loose, yet somehow, they flipped him onto his stomach, with his father sitting on his back, and Chiriko and Kouji crouched at his sides.  
  
Five long minutes of utter silence before the silence was broken by an eloquent curse. Tasuki's hands gripped the papers tightly, a bluish flare of fire appearing around the edges of his hands. Teeth clenched as the redheaded man growled.  
  
Chiriko stood silently, as Kouji muttered, "I think we should be looking to different books."  
  
Tasuki waved his hands out, the flame disappearing with only moderate damage to the edges of the papers. "This... is war!" he declared, getting off of his son's back.  
  
Jounouchi Katsuya groaned. Why did he have to have an obsessive father? "I don't think you should do that." He sat up, rubbing his back awkwardly. "This is fer me and Kaiba to deal with."  
  
His uncle Chiriko spoke, "I think we have a book on the undead under the kitchen table."  
  
Kouji shook his head. "This is a job for the coffee table."  
  
Katsuya whined, "It's not that bad! Leave Book-sama out of this!"  
  
Tasuki shook his head. "Oji-sama is the only accurate resource we have."  
  
The teenager sighed. "Fine... but I don't have anything to do with this, got it? I'm just gonna go get my manga, and go back to Kaiba's..." With that he stormed into his room, slamming the door behind him.  
  
Kouji scratched the back of his head. "So, do you think this vampire perv is right in his insinuations about Katsuya-chan and this Kaiba?"  
  
Gold eyes narrowed on him, and Tasuki hissed. "He had better not."  
  
Chiriko sighed. "Katsuya is not a little boy anymore, Tasuki-chan."  
  
"I've barely met this Kaiba. And from what I've seen on the box, he's an asshole," Tasuki grumbled.  
  
Kouji nodded. "Does it really matter? If Kat-chan likes him, there's little you can do."  
  
Chiriko lifted his head to glance at his younger brother. "How do you know what's on the box anyway?"  
  
Tasuki scratched his head. "Huh?"  
  
"You don't have one."  
  
He blinked. "At work, Oniisan. At work."  
  
"Oh."  
  
Katsuya's door slammed open and shut again. "I'm going! See ya!"  
  
Tasuki shot across the room, coming to a stop between Katsuya and the door. "Book-sama first."  
  
"But!"  
  
"Now. Or else you ain't leavin' this apartment."  
  
"But!"  
  
Kouji and Chiriko grabbed him, and dragged him over to the coffee table. They pulled off the table cover to reveal a huge tome. Opening it, Kouji chanted cheerfully, mockingly, as he took a seat next to it. "Book-sama, Book-sama, show us your wisdom!"  
  
Tasuki smacked him on the back of the head, as he too took a seat beside the book. Chiriko shook his head, sitting Katsuya down between him and Tasuki. "Now, all we gotta do is figure out what we need to know..."  
  
~*~  
  
Jounouchi Katsuya grumbled, staring at the paper in his hands. His father was an idiot. So were Uncle Chiriko and Uncle Kouji. What the hell could a paper ward do for him? Of course, Book-sama agreed, and Book-sama was always right. It was kind of annoying, having a book, no matter how big the book was, interfering with his life.  
  
He wondered what Kaiba would think, if he were to say that he knew of three people in Domino that were more superstitious than him.  
  
It took him about twenty minutes to get back to the mansion, and by then, he was more than ready to just go to bed, so he was as silent as possible, heading back to the room he had been given. It was with a dignified yawn, that he opened the door to his room, thinking to just strip down and get in bed, before he collapsed.  
  
Imagine his surprise, when he found Mokuba, sitting on his bed, glaring bloody murder at him from it. "Uhm..."  
  
"Where were you?" snapped the shorter teen. "I came in here to ask you something, and you were gone! Considering all the trouble you've been getting into lately, for all I knew, you could have been killed! All dead and bloody on the sidewalks!!"  
  
Jounouchi blinked. "I went home to get some of my manga..." He frowned momentarily. "Come to think of it, I would have been better off just grabbing Book-sama," he muttered.  
  
"Book-sama?"  
  
"Huge ass book that Dad uses as a table. It's been there since I was little." He shrugged, "When I left, they were looking up some weird ass incantations or something..."  
  
Mokuba frowned, curious in spite of himself. "What would be written in a book big enough to use as a table?"  
  
Jouno grinned. "All sorts of things. Most of the weird knowledge that I spout off came from it." He attempted to shoo the brunette from his bed. "I'm tired; can you get up, so I can go to bed?"  
  
Mokuba scowled. "Not until you explain why you were gone so long."  
  
He sweatdropped, "Uhm... Dad wouldn't let me leave right away." He sighed. "And my uncles Kouji and Chiriko were there... and they just complicated things... and I ran into Mai on the way there... and... one thing on top of another. I didn't mean to be gone that long, really..."  
  
"Oh." Mokuba's eyes rounded slightly. "Can I sleep with you?"  
  
"Uhm..." Jounouchi blinked again. "Why?"  
  
"Well..." he looked down at his pajama clad knees, "after all that's happened this past month or two, I don't feel comfortable alone... Niisama always let me..." He hugged his knees, certain Jouno would say no.  
  
"Eh... uhm... well, if you really gotta. I used ta let Shizuka sleep with me when she was scared, just... Do you kick?"  
  
Mokuba's eyes widened in a slightly different fashion this time. "You mean I can!? I mean, no, I don't kick. I'm a quiet sleeper!" He nodded emphatically.  
  
"I toss a bit, so if yer sleepin' with me, yer gonna have to deal with that," said Jounouchi, yawning again, stripping off his shirt before going to the dresser to liberate his pajama bottoms. He was out and back in the room in under a minute, dressed in said pj bottoms.  
  
Without another word, he flopped down on the bed next to Mokuba, who stared at him for a moment before asking, "Did you ever tell her stories before going to sleep?"  
  
"Mmmhmm," he mumbled agreeably into his pillow. "Helps you sleep better."  
  
"Would you tell me one?"  
  
"Mmmhmm," he agreed, tossing over to lay on his back. "A long time ago, a boy by the name of Valnir traveled in the far north, in search of his family. He had nothing to go on, didn't know anything about them, not even their names. In spite of this, he was certain that one day he would find them. Traveling far and wide, he encountered great horrors, and great sorrows, but he never stopped, his determination was firm.  
  
"One day, after weeks of hard traveling through the icy northern mountains, he reached an abandoned town. He looked and looked, but no matter how hard, he couldn't find any sign that anybody had been there in years. Valnir had been terribly confused. Everything looked exactly as it should... except there was no one there, and everything was covered in layers of dust. No human life, no animal life, not even bugs.  
  
"Whatever was it that had driven the people who had lived here away, he wondered. It didn't really matter too much, though, and he had free lodgings for the night. He wasn't a terribly suspicious person, or else he wouldn't have trusted his luck so easily.  
  
"He found the town well, and drew water from it. He drank 'til he had his fill, and then had his dinner, which, luckily, he had brought with him. He stayed there a night, and left the next day, to go on searching for his parents.  
  
"Little did he know, the well he had drunk from the previous night had a powerful magic. The Well of Mimir requires a price of those who drink it's waters, and the price requested of Valnir was two things, in return for vast knowledge. His ability to tell anything other than the truth was taken, and when asked a question, he couldn't answer without asking for something in return. Sometimes, he couldn't even control what it was he asked for.  
  
"Eventually, he became known as an oracle, and had many people coming to him, asking questions, until one day, a question was asked, and the asker refused to pay the price asked. The one who had asked was a powerful witch, and upon Valnir's refusal to answer, she grew angry and cursed him.  
  
"He was turned into a gigantic, ornate tome, with covers of Yulewood. Ever since, people have searched for this enchanted book that even still retains the ability to answer any question presented to it, for a price." Jounouchi grinned, "I read that a long time ago."  
  
He turned back over, and was surprised to find Mokuba fast asleep. He smiled, and yawned again. Mokuba was such a cute kid. His eyes slipped closed on that thought. "G'night..."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
(1) Yes, Tasuki. From Fushigi Yuugi. Yes, he's Jounouchi elder. For the AU purposes of this fic. =^.^=  
  
(2) Chiriko. He and Tasuki kinda acted brotherly... only thing here, is that they actually are brothers... and Chiriko's older.  
  
(3) Kouji. The semi-adopted brother/best friend/work partner of Tasuki. What are their jobs? Not telling yet.  
  
~*~  
  
Wow!! Here's all of my back reviews!!  
  
Yami Jazz: You wreally like so much. Sankyuu! ^^  
  
Shade25: I'll try to update regularly... And he was watching it in the manga, so why not read it?  
  
Danyella Skyler Silverfire: Yo. I'd have to agree on all...  
  
meloncrisp: Thank you!  
  
Jenniyah: I didn't say why, but they don't know either, so, yer even with the characters... ^.^  
  
Sorrow/Dark Star Goddess: I'm actually really happy with all these reviews. ^.^ I suppose I'm fairly easy to please. I'm so glad I can see you all!  
  
Tristis Aquilis: I liked the references too, but you really should blame Danyella Skyler Silverfire for about half of them.  
  
BarbedWire23: Seto is a sexy vampire... I like sexy vampire Seto. Heehee.  
  
Esoterical_Angel: Such devotion. Waiting through computer problems for two days... v.v Thank you.  
  
dtamerx: Thank you.  
  
Kaneda-Shotaro and Yami Tetsuo: Thank you. I hope you can see your reviews now too. ^^ Here's more.  
  
ruby_lake24: He might! Might have had something to do with the wolf... Or sommat? It suits him so well though...  
  
Molly-chan the Anime/Game fan: lol Well, here you go! *grin grin* Heh heh. Just wait 'til you find out who the stalker man is... Hee hee...  
  
Ebony Opium: Sano is awesome. =^.^= Jounouchi makes an awesome werewolf, ne?  
  
Butterfly Raven: I love AFI, but I am recently come to actually watching MTV, and the other music channels. And Silver and Cold is the only one I actually got to hear very many times. (The song's beautiful, and that man has a lovely voice.) I used to avoid MTV like the plague. ^^ My brother was always watching rap on it. In the Japanese version of Yugioh, Kaiba is actually a lot more pleasant. He's nowhere near as rude, and all that. (He hardly throws any insults, he's just polite, in a semi-cold fashion.) I admit that I probably did a horrible job with the lyrics... ;.; I had to find them on a lyric search, because his and my accents are so different that I had a hard time understanding what he was saying, even while I loved the song. *bows and scrapes* I may go back some time and fix them up, but for now...! Updating is a bit more important. ^^ 


	7. An Entire Day: Best Spent Unconscious

Title: Silver and Cold  
  
Chapter: 7/?  
  
Chapter Title: An Entire Day: Best Spent Unconscious  
  
Current Rating: PG-13 (At best, for this chapter)  
  
Author: Kage Kashu  
  
Archive: FF, Dragon's Lair, AFF  
  
Chapter Summary: Jouno has an interesting dream, and his dad hurts himself at work.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own them, but oh, how I would love to... *yum* Especially Tasuki. (Except his American voice actor... Who sucks!!!)  
  
Author's notes: I'm on a bit of a Fushigi Yuugi high, lately. ¬.¬ Expect the seishi to start raining down anytime now... ¬.¬  
  
Warnings: For this chapter? Grumbly, annoyed Jounouchi, and a little fighting later on...  
  
Crossover Shows: Yugioh, Fushigi Yuugi (Reincarnate)  
  
Timeline: AUish, after Noa Arc. Some years later.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
~Higher now  
  
I'm high above the stars  
  
Light years away  
  
Alone  
  
This must be a dream now  
  
Until I feel  
  
Terrified  
  
I'm falling fast down  
  
Into the abyss  
  
A void  
  
That's calling me into  
  
Somewhere else  
  
And it knows my name  
  
And my soul slips away~  
  
~~Falling Into Darkness  
  
Jounouchi Katsuya stared off into the distance, over the high tops of the skyscrapers that popped up all over Domino. The price, he decided, of living in a large city was the lack of true freedom. The skyscrapers reached, high toward the heavens, as if reaching for that glowing orb just over their tops. Soft layers of cold mist hung low over the trees of the park a short distance away. His breath fogged briefly in the air in front of him, and he wondered why he was here.  
  
The top of Domino High wasn't a bad place to be... It's just that he thought that he was staying at Kaiba's. Not that that really mattered at the moment. All that mattered was the beautiful mist hanging between him and the moon, and the skyscrapers standing between him and freedom. And the absolute silence that seemed so unnatural to the night. Why was it so quiet? Not even in the city... especially in the city... it should never be so quiet at night.  
  
A soft almost-not-sound made the hair on the back of his neck rise, and he turned, just in time to stare into a pair of flat, dark blue eyes, as a hand covered his mouth. Kaiba. He relaxed immediately, and the hand pulled away. "What am I doing here?" asked Kaiba, in a soft, almost emotionless voice.  
  
Jounouchi turned, to lean against the rails that kept wandering students from randomly falling from the roof. "I would ask you that too, 'cause I thought you were out of town."  
  
A smooth roll of Kaiba's shoulders, barely discernable, and Kaiba murmured, "I was in London. Why am I here?"  
  
Jouno smiled, as he realized what the problem was. "A dream." He sighed. "Just a dream." He turned and slid down to a sitting position on the cement. "Why are you in my dream?"  
  
"A dream?" asked the CEO, almost silently. "I could ask you the same thing, koinu (1)." Kaiba sighed. "I think I should ask about other things though. Firstly, how's Mokuba?"  
  
"Last I saw, fast asleep after I told him a story." Jouno shrugged. "I got a few questions myself, though."  
  
"Really?"  
  
He nodded apprehensively. "When you burnt that vampire... did you spread the ashes?"  
  
Kaiba blinked, his expression going from blank to oh-shit. "What happened?"  
  
Jounouchi grimaced, trying to think of a way to explain. "Well... your little 'friend' started sending me 'gifts'. I couldn't say anything to Mokuba, because the bastard threatened him." He sighed, hand pushing his hair away from his eyes as he raised his head to stare Kaiba in the eye. "I gotta favor ta ask."  
  
Kaiba nodded for him to continue, already planning to get home as soon as he was able.  
  
"Get yer ass back here ASAP."  
  
He smirked slightly at that. "I'm one step ahead of you, as usual, make inu (2)."  
  
Jounouchi grumbled. "I don't get why ya gotta start with the insults..."  
  
Kaiba shrugged again. "I suppose that it's gotten to be habit."  
  
Out of curiosity, Jouno asked, "Why did you start that, anyway?"  
  
A soft smile, quickly smothered, flashed on Kaiba's face. If Jounouchi hadn't been paying attention, he would have missed it entirely. "Your reaction was amusing." He snorted softly. "And you seemed to think that you would be able to actually take me down..."  
  
"How was I supposed to know you knew 'jitsu?" Jounouchi asked, feeling vaguely annoyed. "I wouldn't've just dived at ya that time, if I'd known."  
  
Kaiba smirked. "I hadn't realized that you would react so... violently. It was amusing, so I kept doing it, wondering when you'd just stop reacting."  
  
Jouno frowned. "I don't... think of it that way. It's always been, if someone pissed me off, I'd knock 'em down, yanno? And if it didn't work the first time, try, try again. Dad's fond of that line of thought. Not one to give up easy, yanno."  
  
"So. It's inherited."  
  
The blonde snorted, mildly amused. "Oh! And before I forget... Try and get back real fast, okay? 'Cause I think my dad's gonna go after that vampire, just himself, Uncle Chiriko and Kouji."  
  
"So the idiocy's inherited as well," Kaiba answered sourly. "Or perhaps it's just foolhardiness."  
  
"Screw that." Jouno propped a foot on the opposite knee and snorted. "I'm not near as bad. You should see how often -he- gets put in the hospital for rather bizarre injuries... And then Uncle Chiriko and Kouji get to try their 'home remedies' on him. It's kinda funny to watch, but it gets pathetic after a while."  
  
Kaiba blinked. "I bet."  
  
"You know... Is it just me, or is it starting to get light out?" asked Jouno.  
  
The brunette lifted his gaze skyward, also noting that the sky was growing paler. After a moments thought, he spoke. "I have several hours on you, but you probably need to be heading off to school soon."  
  
Jounouchi nodded agreeably as the sky paled further. "I'm gonna get woken up any minute now. Hurry back, okay?"  
  
"Of course," Kaiba murmured...  
  
And everything dimmed, until all the blonde could feel was a hand on his shoulder, shaking it. His eyes opened blearily. "I'm up, I'm up," he grunted, rolling toward the hand that was shaking him. His eyes latched onto the familiar vision of dark blue eyes... wider than usual, but after a moment, he realized why. It was Mokuba, not his older brother. "Hello Mokuba," he muttered, eyes slipping back closed.  
  
"Don't you dare go back to sleep, Jounouchi! I've been trying to wake you for the past twenty minutes!!" Mokuba shook his shoulder a little more vigorously. His voice was loud and painful to Jouno's ears.  
  
He tried to push the sound away from his consciousness. "I'm awake," he murmured, consciousness slipping. The bed was really comfortable.  
  
"Jounouchi?" The shaking stopped, and Mokuba's voice sounded concerned, but the pitch was so high... He winced slightly at the sound.  
  
"I'm awake, I said," he muttered, softer than before. Too warm, too soft. He didn't want to move. But Mokuba's voice was making his head hurt.  
  
"Jounouchi... You're going to be late for school." Mokuba's voice firmed. There was something about that that bothered him.  
  
"I'm not going," he muttered into the pillow. He growled softly when Mokuba shook his shoulder again.  
  
"Jounouchi?" No longer just concerned, but slightly scared. "Are you alright?"  
  
"Wanna go back to sleep," he grumbled, shoving his face deeper into the pillow. The growl deepened when Mokuba's hand rested on his shoulder again. The hand was quickly removed. "Go to school without me." He lifted his head briefly, to draw the pillow out from under it, only to drop his head and pull the pillow over it. "G'night."  
  
"But... Jounouchi..." Mokuba sighed. He doubted that he could easily get around this one. He'd just tell the others that Jounouchi refused to wake up. "Leave a note if you plan on going anywhere, okay?"  
  
"Okay," came the expected grumble.  
  
Mokuba sighed again, climbing off of the bed, and edging silently out the door... or almost silently. Jounouchi could hear him quite clearly. And he was sure that it wasn't because Mokuba was being loud... because he wasn't.  
  
Jouno wondered, if such a quiet sound was so loud to him... what would school be like? School was always loud. And the mere sound of the door opening and shutting was bothering him... He wouldn't be able to stand the noise at school. He growled into the mattress again. He really hoped it was just a passing thing, because if it wasn't, he would be really short tempered for a few weeks.  
  
~*~  
  
Jounouchi Tasuki sat at a desk, carefully folding top-secret files into paper airplanes. He watched as the latest one floated gently across the small office to hit his partner, Chang Kouji in the temple. He snickered as Kouji ignored it. Again. He tossed up the one he was folding, watching as it did the same.  
  
Then, he started over, making new airplanes. He knew that eventually, Kouji would flip, and start throwing them back, and judging by the occasional twitch... he was well on his way to that point.  
  
He grinned at the other, a fang peeking out of his mouth as golden hued eyes crinkled at the corners. Just one more... the airplane made its slow way over to Kouji, and, just like its predecessors, smacked the dark haired man right at the corner of his hairline.  
  
Kouji leapt to his feet in a full convulsive twitch, throwing his half full coffee cup at his partner. "Would you just stop that!! I'm trying to work, here!!"  
  
Tasuki chuckled, glad for a moment that the coffee had missed him... and the papers. He was momentarily distracted by that thought. 'Hm... Too bad.' His grin widened to slightly psychotic proportions as Kouji tackled him. The other didn't usually react so harshly.  
  
He crashed to the floor with Kouji's knee almost in his face and one leg being pulled into such a position that it was never meant to be in. He howled. "Yaaah!!! Kouji!!!" He fitted an arm around his partner's neck, in an attempt to get the other down to his eye level. All he succeeded in doing was pulling his own leg further into that unnatural position and getting an interesting strangled noise from Kouji, who was pulling on said leg. Tasuki howled again. "Gyaah!!"  
  
His howl was cut off by Kouji's knee against his neck. Damnit! It couldn't end like this! He pulled harder on Kouji's neck, earning another strange sound as well as wrenching his own knee out of socket. Kouji's knee landed at the side of his head, and he was free to howl again.  
  
A soft clicking noise caused them to still completely, in horror. Someone opened their office door. Tear filled golden eyes sought out the door, as well as the figure standing in it. To his complete and utter relief, it was just Chiriko, who stared at them with a mixture of amusement and horror. "What are you guys doing?"  
  
Kouji made a rather interesting noise, trying to speak. Unfortunately, Tasuki's arm was still around his neck, so Tasuki had to answer. "Wrestling... I think..." his voice sounded slightly strained. Even to his own ears. "Kouji..." he whined, letting go of his partner's neck. "I think you broke my knee."  
  
Kouji looked mildly alarmed. "Is that what that sound was?" He promptly attempted to untangle himself from Tasuki, to get a better look at the limb he had been holding. Sure enough, the knee was bent at a somewhat unnatural angle.  
  
Tasuki whined again, when Kouji lowered his leg. Then he realized that it didn't hurt so much as it had to start with. Maybe he had been overreacting? He sat up, to get a look see.  
  
Chiriko muttered to himself in the doorway for a moment, before coming over to also get a look. He gasped. It did look broken. He placed his hands lightly at the injury, feeling at it. After a moment, he murmured, "I don't think it's broken... I think it's just out of place..."  
  
Kouji sighed, relieved. He really didn't want to deal with a Tasuki who had a broken leg. That... would not be fun. "If that's the problem... I think I can fix it!" He deliberately ignored the look of terror on his partner's face.  
  
"No!! I'll go to the doctor! I ain't gonna..." He stopped when he realized that they weren't paying any attention to him.  
  
"I read in a book once..." Chiriko was murmuring.  
  
"Yeah, me too," agreed Kouji. "Wanna try it?"  
  
"YOU GUYS!!" Tasuki yelled.  
  
~*~  
  
Quarter after four, Jounouchi Katsuya mused, staring at the clock next to the bed. Mokuba had come back about an hour earlier, and had been surprised to find him still abed. He had been staring at the clock then too. He didn't really want to sleep. His dreams were really weird today.  
  
Around noon, he had been dreaming that he was at school, and in it, he could hear his father's voice, screaming at Uncles Kouji and Chiriko. Something about getting his leg broken. Again.  
  
A little later, he had had a dream about his tutor. Old One Eye had been in Amerika, asking around about his family. It was weird. One Eye had been younger in that dream. His hair was still silvery white, and he was still scarred to hell, but he seemed young, somehow.  
  
Jouno awoke from his reverie to the sound of tapping at his door. "Who is it?" he grumbled, in the same foul mood from that morning.  
  
"Knock knock  
  
"Who's there?  
  
"Why it's Kouji, come to tell his darling godson about what happened at work today.  
  
"Oh! Come right in.  
  
"Why, thank you!" His Uncle Kouji's voice was louder than normal, and by far much too cheerful.  
  
"Jouno," Mokuba's voice, "can we come in?"  
  
"Sure," he grumbled, a little louder, so that they should be able to hear him. Mokuba hadn't heard him earlier, when asking the same question. He was relieved not to have to repeat himself this time though, as the door opened without further ado.  
  
"How are you this afternoon, Katsu-chan?" Kouji asked cheerfully.  
  
He glared balefully at the man before grunting a reply. "In need of quiet." He shut his eyes, so he wouldn't have to watch the movement Kouji was sure to make... It would have made him queasy, he was certain.  
  
"Yer dad nearly broke his own knee today." Kouji grinned.  
  
Jounouchi found himself smiling, almost against his will. He tugged the blanket over his face. "How did that happen?"  
  
"Well, he and I got into a... fight. I had his leg pulled up funny, and he started pulling at my neck. Next thing ya know, he yanked harder, I heard a loud pop, and he started howling, worse than before..." Kouji grinned. "So, he's got a brace now. And a lovely set of crutches."  
  
Jouno grinned into the blanket. "Sounds like it was at least half your fault."  
  
"You should have heard him, though... He was practically begging for us to just take him to the hospital..."  
  
"Do we have a permanent room there yet?"  
  
"So... this is a family trait then?" asked Mokuba. "This being terribly accident prone?"  
  
Kouji scratched the back of his neck. "No, Chiriko doesn't got it, for sure. I think it's more that there's this stubborn streak in the Jounouchi family, that's like, a mile wide." He chuckled, "They won't give up, no matter how much it hurts."  
  
Jouno threw a pillow at Kouji. "I'm gonna go ta sleep... Tell me when Kaiba's back." He buried his head under the remaining pillow.  
  
Mokuba blinked. "That won't be for a few more days yet..." He shrugged.  
  
Kouji leaned over the blonde. "Huh. He's already asleep."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
(1) Koinu. Puppy. Literally, "little dog" or "young dog".  
  
(2) Make inu. Pronounced "Ma-kay Ee-new." Means mutt.  
  
~*~ Molly-chan the Anime/Game fan: Is the stalker anyone you know? Depends on what fandoms you visit. ^^ Creepy thought? (Am curious, in spite of myself...=v.v=)  
  
Kaneda-Shotaro and Yami Tetsuo: ^^ Thanks again.  
  
Danyella Skyler Silverfire: ^^ Of course.  
  
the Ghost of Jounochi: Thank you very much. ^^  
  
FREAK014: ^^ (I got called sempai? ^^ So happy.) Kaiba didn't know much on the supernatural, as it were. He's learning.  
  
Sorrow/Dark Star Goddess: ^^ Yeah, very big book. Makes for a nice conversation piece too. And a nice coffee table. ^^ 


	8. Nightmares and Vampires

Title: Silver and Cold  
  
Chapter: 8/?  
  
Chapter Title: Nightmares and Vampires  
  
Current Rating: PG-13 verging on R (I'll go with R, just to be safe...)  
  
Author: Kage Kashu  
  
Archive: FF, Dragon's Lair, AFF  
  
Chapter Summary: Jounouchi has a nightmare, and then goes walking. Cut to Tasuki and Co. And Jouno has an encounter.  
  
Disclaimer: I dun own em, sadly.  
  
Author's notes: First person to figure out who one eye is (per place I post) gets a special cameo appearance. They get to slap the Sakurazukamori's ass without getting retaliated upon... and then, get to walk away, cackling maniacally. ^^  
  
Warnings: For this chapter? Uhm... A bit of an 'eew', some blood, a letter. Weird humor, and cliffyish thing.  
  
Crossover Shows: Yugioh, Fushigi Yuugi, and (unknown).  
  
Timeline: AUish, after Noa Arc. Some years later.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
~The sea's evaporated  
  
Though it comes as no surprise  
  
These clouds we're seeing  
  
They're explosions in the sky  
  
It seems it's written  
  
But we can't read between the lines~  
  
~~Sleeping With Ghosts  
  
Once again, Jounouchi was staring at the clock. It read nine, so he supposed that he had missed his daily letter. At least, he hoped that was the case. A silent darkness had descended on the Kaiba estate, an he was glad of it. There was too much happening in the day, what with all the noise, the brightness and the motion. He really didn't like the first two at the moment.  
  
The wall behind the clock looked nearly black in the dimness of the room, and so did just about everything else. The tiny amount of light that entered the room came from the half open window and glittered off of every available object. The room was awash with dark grays and stark blackness. It was nice, comforting in a way.  
  
He snuggled deeply into his warm cocoon of blankets. A soft sound at the edge of his senses alarmed him though. There wasn't supposed to be anyone in here. He sat up quickly, ready to attack the intruder, only to find... There was no one there. "Huh?" he queried the darkness of the room.  
  
His eyes locked onto the far wall, not really seeing anything, as he listened for a continuation of the noise that had bothered him in the first place. He blinked. The wall... didn't look right. A darker gray, verging on black, dripped down over it. What the... A sharp metallic scent in his nose... Blood?  
  
His eyes widened imperceptibly, and his stomach lurched as the bed listed to the side. The scent of blood strengthened, and the far end of the bed dipped down as Jounouchi climbed upward, clinging to the headboard. A soft whine hung in his throat, nearly turning to a shriek when the foot of the bed dropped further down, leaving the bed at a 45° angle from the floor, which no longer looked like a floor. A deep dark pool of black liquid seemed to have replaced the floor, and the bed seemed to be sinking rapidly into it.  
  
Jounouchi hyperventilated, staring at the thick black pool that he was sinking toward, and with a shrill scream...  
  
He woke up.  
  
He choked on his own breath for a moment, then flopped backward onto the bed, which was back in the proper 180° position. Thank Kami-sama. He sat back up, throwing his pillow at the light switch at the other side of the room. With the light on, the entire dream twisted back, and everything was "A-Okay", as his father would have said. (He suspected that his dear father had spent a little too much time in Amerika.)  
  
He blinked, realizing that there was a piece of paper in his lap. Well, shit. Vampy had come after all. Not that he wasn't disappointed. He really wanted this freak to just leave him alone. Actually, that was one of the things he had always been looking for... He really had always wanted to just be left alone. Although, it _was_ nice having friends, he had never really asked for any.  
  
'My Beautiful Katsuya,'  
  
"Ch'." Jouno glared out the window. Figures that Mr. Perv would just get worse with his name calling.  
  
'I see thou didst not feel up to doing much today... Thine head bothering thee? Maybe young Mokuba's voice, grating on the nerves? The boy does have a rather shrill voice, especially when he feels concern. There are advantages, though, to being a wolf. Sensitivity to certain stimuli will be better by far (1).  
  
'Wolves have a lovely tendency to bare their throat to the one they believe is in charge.'  
  
"Fuckin' perv," Jounouchi growled, crumpling the paper. He had an idea that he already knew where the pervert was going with that one. He glanced at the clock. A little after 9. He nodded to himself, before resigning himself to glancing at the other papers.  
  
A few choice words, and a near bloody nose later, the pictures were crumpled as well. He smoothed the papers back out, putting them back in their envelope. With that, he hopped out of bed, and over to the desk, to pull out some papers.  
  
'Hey Mokuba' he wrote.  
  
'I'm going to visit home, so if you come in here and notice me missing, I'm just gone out visiting, okay? I'll be back by morning... or in the morning. Or, if not, I'll call.  
  
'Jounouchi Katsuya'  
  
He nodded to himself. That would do it. "See ya later," he told the room in general, before heading to, and hopping out of, the bedroom window, to land, once again, in a run.  
  
~*~  
  
Jounouchi Tasuki smacked his dear friend Kouji, who was trying to steal his 'tea', with a crutch. "Get off of that! It's mine!"  
  
"You shouldn't be drinking so early in the day!" protested Kouji. "Actually, from what I heard about yer last binge, you shouldn't be drinkin' much at all! You nearly beaned that poor kid in the head with a bottle... Wasn't he one of Katsuya's friends?"  
  
"Hmm... Hongo, Hiroshi, Hiroto, Honda.... Somethin' like that," Tasuki shrugged, already, it seemed, deep in his cups (2). He grinned. "Think I scared him?"  
  
"From what Katsuya said, he didn't get far enough into the apartment to see you, much less be scared of you... He was probably scared you were gonna throw another one..." Kouji laughed, attempting to snag the 'tea' again. "Knowing you, you'll be trying to go about without the crutches, and you'll pull yer knee again."  
  
"Mine!!" Tasuki swung up his left leg at Kouji, trying to make him back off. "It's yer fault, anyway. Sheesh, who'da expected such a violent reaction..."  
  
"You'd been doin' that all morning, whatcha expect?" Kouji grumbled. "You're the one who kept pullin'. It was yer pullin' that made it go pop in the first place..." He frowned. "You really shouldn't be drinkin' anyway."  
  
"What makes you say that?"  
  
"You + a load of alcohol + easy access to Book-sama = disaster. As proven last time," the darker man tossed his head a bit, to get his hair out of his eyes. Unfortunately, it was still wet, as he had come out of the shower about ten minutes before, immediately going to bother his best friend. "What was it you asked? I remember the solution having had something to do with a lot of coconut milk, the neighbor's cat, and a fencing instructor from one of the local schools."  
  
The redhead tipped his head to the side. "Hmm... I think it had something to do with the last werewolf scare... but I'm not sure about more than that... or even if it was that..."  
  
Kouji opened his mouth to reply, but was startled, as was Tasuki, by the sound of the front door banging open, followed by a bunch of loud thumping sounds. There was the sound of something shattering, and then... Silence.  
  
They stared at each other, 'tea' forgotten. "What the fuck was that?" asked Tasuki, getting up. He headed directly towards the door, Kouji following.  
  
~*~  
  
It wasn't a long distance between the Jounouchi and Kaiba households, at least, if one went through the park. It was pleasantly cool outside, early autumn, and the leaves were golden and red under the streetlamps, while black everywhere else. It was lovely... but the cool easily gave way to chill if you stayed still for even a moment. Jouno shivered, pulling his green jacket closer, and wishing he had put on something heavier. Oh, well, it was too late now.  
  
Cutting through the park had, at one time, been something Jounouchi had dreaded. Now... anyone who knew of him, or recognized him, from the old gangs... they would leave him alone. Why was that? They had a tendency to be cowards, so the mere mention of Jounouchi Katsuya was enough to make most of them run.  
  
He welcomed the darkness, although it seemed, with his coloring, the darkness wasn't so welcoming to him. There was a heavy mist in the air, and his hair dampened with it as he walked down the street to the aforementioned park. Once he reached the darkened park, he had an overwhelming urge... one that he hadn't had in _years_. He wanted to run. On the track. Maybe even time himself.  
  
He grinned. Considering all that had been happening lately, he ought to get back into proper shape. His dad had told him, some weeks before, that he was getting wimpy, and that he probably wouldn't even be able to run properly. He figured he ought to test that theory.  
  
His grin turned wolfish, and he set off. Keeping his eyes ahead of him, and to the ground, as he didn't want to trip, he pushed himself faster. He leaned forward, as to give less wind resistance, and pumped his legs even faster. Wind whistled by his ears, and his eyes watered slightly as he practically flew down the old track. His jacket whipped behind him, and the only thought on his mind was of how _good_ this felt. His blood racing, chest heaving, legs throbbing... Uh oh.  
  
With an undignified yelp, he crashed to the ground, jaw hitting first on the track. His brain was jarred by the impact, giving him a sudden super- sized headache (3)... and his jaw was bleeding. Ch'. Figures. He sat up, holding a hand to his skull and squeezing his eyes shut for the moment. "Oi..." he grumbled. He could barely hear himself over the ringing in his ears. He wasn't really sure how, but he sensed a presence up close behind him, just before he was pulled back and against someone. "Wha...?"  
  
"I take it thou didst not read the entire thing," a soft voice with a heavily archaic accent spoke directly into his ear. "Or else thou wouldst not have been so careless."  
  
"Eep," said Jounouchi. This was _so_ not good. So, Mr. Perv was here. Other than that, and a few choice images and phrases form the man's letters, all that remained in his head was the ringing that accompanied his headache. Cold fingers moved up his neck, and he felt himself sag against the weirdo. What the...? Jouno couldn't move. Not in the least. No no. This wasn't good; not at all.  
  
He whimpered as he was pulled closer to the vampire, which, he noted, was a lot taller than him. A good eight inches taller than him, if not more. He was lifted off of the ground, and the 'man' behind him was all that was supporting him. "Hai, that's it, my pretty blonde wolfling," the soft voice husked into his ear. The cold fingers returned to his neck, trailing upward and forward, coming to a rest against his jaw. "Tip thine head back for me..."  
  
A soft whine escaped his throat as his head tipped back, in spite of his best effort to keep it up. The fingers on his jaw pressed lightly, until he was looking the vampire in the eye. Too late, he remembered that looking a vampire in the eye was a bad thing.  
  
Then his world was trapped in icy blue.  
  
~*~  
  
Tasuki and Kouji scrambled for the entryway, the former having a harder time of it, due to his leg being in a splint and the rest of him just being drunk. After a spectacularly clumsy fall, he gave up, leaving Kouji to it. He doubted his ability to reach the door anyway.  
  
A moment later, Kouji came back, face completely white. "Tasuki... You'd better get out the holy water."  
  
"Eh?" Tasuki stared up at him, finally distinguishing the bundle in the dark man's arms to be his son. Drunkenness left abruptly, and he lurched to his feet, ignoring his crutches in favor of hurrying into the study, to snatch one of the bottles of water that he'd had blessed, of which he always had at least four on hand, by every priest, priestess, monk, and so- called holy maiden within a twenty mile radius. Just in case With a curse, he stumbled back out into the living room, bottle in hand.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
(1) This is for Katana. ^.~ For mentioning _that_. lol  
  
(2) Deep in his cups. Well on the way to being drunk.  
  
(3) Any of you ever do that? If not, trust me, if you land real hard, you've got this tendency to have a rather sudden and massive headache, purely from the fact that the brain gets jarred.  
  
~*~  
  
Reviews:  
  
the Ghost of Jounochi: Ya know... I think yer right. Me and my friend were laughing our asses off as I was writing that. ^^ Poor Tasuki... and he's not a werewolf, so it's not gonna be a quick thing.  
  
Molly-chan the Anime/Game fan: Darn. Well, Mr. Stalker is from an as yet untold anime, and he's... well... Not really who I'd expect any to expect. ^^ I like the guy, I'm just making him do something that I could actually see him doing with the right few pushes towards insanity. ^^  
  
Sorrow/Dark Star Goddess: If you know anything about Fushigi Yuugi, the redhead, Tasuki, is Jouno's dad in this fic... His best friend Kouji is just that... his best friend, and pretty much being Jouno's "godfather". Chiriko, who, in Fushigi Yuugi is the little guy, is Jouno's uncle, Tasuki's elder brother... If that's confusing... I'll give better descriptions of them later on. ^^  
  
Kaneda-Shotaro and Yami Tetsuo: ^^ Thank you!  
  
FREAK014: Meh... He had only just gotten turned, so we really should excuse him, ne? Poor little guy didn't know what he was supposed to do... ^^ I was just a bit surprised, never been called sempai before, feel very flattered. ^^ I'm thinking that there will eventually be a lemon... If I can get up the courage for it. ^^ Poor boy's only half turned, so things are starting to be noticeable to him... It'll get a bit more so methinks, before he's used to it. ^^  
  
Danyella Skyler Silverfire: I feel better now... 


	9. Irrelevant Antiques

Title: Silver and Cold  
  
Chapter: 9/?  
  
Chapter Title: Irrelevant Antiques  
  
Current Rating: PG-13  
  
Author: Kage Kashu  
  
Archive: FF, Dragon's Lair, AFF  
  
Chapter Summary: Sano has a visitor, and we find out who the stalker is. Tasuki deals with his son's... problem. And Yahiko searches for Ashitare.  
  
Disclaimer: No own. Sorry. So stop asking for me to give it up! I can't give what I don't have.  
  
Author's notes: First person to figure out who one eye is (per place I post) gets a special cameo appearance. They get to slap the Sakurazukamori's ass without getting retaliated upon... and then, get to walk away, cackling maniacally. ^^  
  
Current guesses that have been made, and were unfortunately wrong: Subaru (Tokyo Babylon/X1999).  
  
Warnings: For this chapter? Uhm... I don't know, really.  
  
Crossover Shows: Rorouni Kenshin, Gundam Wing (minor mention of a character), Fushigi Yuugi, Yugioh, and Ranma 1/2.  
  
Timeline: AUish, after Noa Arc. Some years later.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
~This one world vision  
  
Turns us in to compromise  
  
What good's religion  
  
When it's each other we despise  
  
Damn the government  
  
Damn the killing  
  
Damn the lies~  
  
~~Sleeping With Ghosts  
  
The rusted sign creaked outside the window. Other than that, Sagara's Antiques was nearly silent. It was late, and Sano didn't figure that many humans would be running around outside of town at this time. So, it was about time to send out another search for Ashitare. "Yahiko?" he asked, around the fishbone in his mouth.  
  
"Yeah, yeah. I know. I can handle it just fine, as long as I've got Hibiki with me. We make a good team," the younger were shrugged. Sano only had a few years on him, and the height difference was almost null now, after all this time. "Although, we could do a lot if we still had Kenshin..."  
  
"Yeah, if Hibiki doesn't get lost first," grumbled Sano, glaring out the window. "Better have Missy for backup, just in case."  
  
"I can manage without that ugly bitch," Yahiko growled.  
  
Sano backhanded him into the wall. "Missy Kaoru has a higher position in the pack than you, Yahiko. She's still my second. Remember that."  
  
Yahiko groaned. "I don't see why you still get mad about that." He rubbed the back of his head, glaring at his pack leader. "She's still..."  
  
Sano raised his hand, and Yahiko's mouth snapped shut. "You should respect her rank, if nothing else. I know you never did, but if you dare show dissention in front of anyone else..." he left the threat hanging. Really, Yahiko should know better.  
  
Yahiko's head bobbed slightly. "Fine, Kaoru and Hibiki. Altogether, we can probably handle anything." He sighed. "Don't worry about me losing Hibiki, though. I attached a locator to his bandana, last time."  
  
Sano blinked. "What about the piglet thing?"  
  
"I'll still be able to find him." Yahiko rolled his shoulders, standing up. "He always has the bandana, you know."  
  
"Take care, and tell Missy that I asked for her to go with you two." The fishbone hung from his mouth at an angle as his eyes followed the younger wolf out the door. "See ya."  
  
Sano stared at the creaking sign outside of the window for a long time after Yahiko left. The creaking was really annoying, especially in the almost oppressive silence of his shop. "I'm really gonna have to do something about that sign."  
  
He chewed on the head of the fishbone for a moment longer, still staring out the window. He needed something to do. He really needed something to do. His eyes darted across the eclectic clutter of the shop, to the wall, where the zanboto hung upon it. The nine foot (1) blade was too heavy for the hooks it rested on, and he was going to have to replace the hooks with something stronger, as they were bending under it's weight.  
  
He shuffled around the clutter until he reached it, taking it down as easily as if it had been made of styrofoam. Even before he had been turned to a werewolf, he had been strong enough to lift it with an inhuman ease. He remembered something Kenshin had said to him, in private. "Don't overbalance yourself, de gozaru. Try some meditation, then go back to training. Strength of body needs to be balanced by strength of spirit, de gozaru yo."  
  
He had laughed at the time, but after his trip to China, and the fateful accident that had turned him into a werewolf, he had found himself in need of time... to just sit and think. Occasionally, even now, such a mood would strike him, and he would take down the zanboto... and polish it. He had tried meditation, but he couldn't really sit still that long anyway, so had moved on to doing something so mundane that it left the mind completely free to do whatever an insanely bored mind does when there's nothing else to do. In other words... think.  
  
Polishing the zanboto took a very long time, considering it's size; so he was left with plenty of time to do just that. He'd been polishing it for about five minutes when a slightly out of place sound (no, not that infernal creaking) caused him to look up. The shop appeared to be empty. Knowing that it wasn't empty was what caused his eyes to narrow, intently searching the entire shop. He sniffed abruptly, then relaxed, recognizing the scent of the one who was visiting him.  
  
"Didn't Himura break that?" murmured a deep, gravely voice, right next to his ear.  
  
"Yeah, and vamps aren't supposed to be out in the day, cricket man," Sano retorted, sourly. "Put out the cigarette, or get out."  
  
A flat grin answered him. "Nice thing about sunscreen. And no."  
  
"Before I shove it down your throat." He paused thoughtfully. "So that's why I keep thinking that you must be eating surfers."  
  
Saitoh was silent for a moment. No, he hadn't been eating surfers, but it was an amusing thought.  
  
"Now, put that thing out, before I take the gasoline blowtorch to you." Sano lifted said torch threateningly.  
  
Saitoh frowned slightly, putting the cigarette out on the zanboto, since it _was_ right in front of him. The frown deepened when the blowtorch was waved in his face. "Put that little toy of yours down, Ahou. I've come bearing news."  
  
"Whatcha got, cricket man?"  
  
Saitoh eyed the swords on the wall disinterestedly. There was one... "Kenshin's," he muttered to himself. "Kushrenada's gone insane." This time, the words were directed at Sano.  
  
"The Ancient?" Sano winced. That was bad. Not just bad, but terrifically so. Few Ancients have gone insane, but when they did... Cataclysms had a tendency to happen when an Ancient went insane. "What caused it?"  
  
"Someone had his consort killed. It's still uncertain who, but as you can see..."  
  
"No kidding," Sano made a soft clucking noise in the back of his throat. "Is that all you've come for? Or was there more to it?"  
  
Saitoh nodded slowly. "It may have some effect here, and that thing," here he pointed at the zanboto that Sano was still polishing almost convulsively, "may be needed." He stared out the window for a moment. "You need to replace that sign. The creaking is annoying."  
  
"No worse than your chirping, Jiminy (2)."  
  
"..." That... was off the wall. Even for Sano. "Watching Disney?"  
  
Sano stared at him for a moment, bug-eyed. "What... the... No. I don't want to know why you know that. I really, really, really don't." He shook his head, trying to rid himself of the mental image of an entranced Saitoh, watching the Little Mermaid, or Bambi, with tears in his eyes. "I, at least, have the excuse of having little kids hanging out in here sometimes..." He shuddered.  
  
Saitoh blinked. Oops. Actually, it was all about getting accosted by a lonely child one night, and dragged into their house. The parents had been gone, and the child saw his uniform as he was walking past the door, and grabbed him. He had left once the kid fell asleep, but not before being tortured for some hours by Pinocchio, Bambi, Snow White, Lion King and Cinderella. The gaki's babysitter had apparently left on a date. "I was forced," he admitted.  
  
"Forced? How could _you_ be forced?"  
  
"I didn't want to hurt a child... and the brat had been left alone..." Really, there was no more he could say. Those movies had disturbed his sensibilities. He had been... traumatized. It had been worse when the kid turned on Barney. He barely kept himself from shuddering. He decided that it would probably be better to get back on topic, it was less disturbing. "Back to Kushrenada."  
  
"Yeah. Please."  
  
"It seems that he turned someone in this area, but the Court hasn't been able to find them," Saitoh shrugged slightly. "And, by way of proxy, caused that young man who was visiting you the other day to be attacked by Ashitare."  
  
Sano blinked. "By way of proxy?" he asked, sucking lightly on the previously forgotten fishbone that was still hanging from his mouth.  
  
"Turned someone, who bit the boy, who wandered off the next day, only to get lost and attacked by Ashitare."  
  
"Uhm..." Sano bit down a bit harder on the fishbone. "Uhm... That's a rather roundabout way of accusing someone of something."  
  
Saitoh shrugged. "The Court doesn't know this, but the one Kushrenada turned was Kaiba Seto. The rich and famous, Kaiba Seto. Who, if I'm correct, as I'm rarely not, burnt Kushrenada to a cinder... and let him come back. But Kaiba's currently running around without a Master."  
  
"Which is a bad thing, of course," Sano mused. "Since he ain't got a Master or a sensei, how is it that the media hasn't noticed anything?"  
  
"He has a 'sensei'. That young man who visited you seems to be very knowledgeable on these things."  
  
"And... he's walking during the day?" he asked.  
  
"Kaiba? Yes. I'm still unsure of that one." Saitoh placed his cigarette back to his lips. "And Kushrenada seems to be stalking that young man."  
  
"Wha?" He leaned forward. "That's... Why is he stalking Jounouchi?"  
  
Saitoh shrugged. "He's insane, and you expect me to know why he's doing something? He's obviously obsessed with both Kaiba and Jounouchi. Why, I can't say. Baka ahou."  
  
"Ch'. Whatever you say, cricket man." Sano pet the zanboto slightly. "So, I may be needed?"  
  
Saitoh shrugged again. "I have some doubts as to that, but it is possible. If we're lucky, we won't have to do anything about him at all."  
  
"Why's that?"  
  
"Jounouchi's father... is known."  
  
Sano frowned. "Known?"  
  
Saitoh nodded. "Yes." He fiddled with a lighter, wanting to relight his cigarette, but unsure if Sano had really meant his earlier threat. "He's the one who killed that Illusionist Ancient. Ch'. With 'holy' gasoline and fire."  
  
Blink. Blink. "What the... No, wait. Once again, I really don't want to know." He really wanted to ask about this so called 'holy' gasoline, but couldn't bring himself to. "So, as for what to do... What's your suggestion?"  
  
"We should wait."  
  
~*~  
  
Kouji's hands tightened over his ears as he watched Tasuki give Katsuya holy water. He had put some on a cloth, which he had placed on the bite mark on the boy's neck, having used one of his ties to keep it in place. Katsuya fought back, of course, as the holy water hurt like hell to have against the bite, and fought even more when Tasuki had him drink it.  
  
Of that entire bottle, only half of it actually made it down Katsuya's throat, but that was enough to cause the boy to scream. Kouji winced. He, himself, had never even seen a vampire, but it was kind of obvious that that was what the bite was from. And there had been a little blood around the younger Jounouchi's mouth too.  
  
So the vampire had tried to turn him. 'Hell with that,' Tasuki had said. 'Not happenin' to my son.' Thus, the holy water. And it had taken nearly an hour to get Katsuya to drink that much... as well as having a lot of said water flung everywhere.  
  
After another hour, Katsuya had quieted down to whimpers, and Tasuki no longer had to hold him down (which was really trying, considering that the boy was turning to a werewolf already). Another hour, and he was silently unconscious.  
  
Tasuki sighed, eying Kouji, who was still silent. "Do you think it worked?"  
  
Kouji shook his head. "I don't know. I hope it worked..."  
  
Tasuki nodded, rubbing his jaw. Katsuya had managed to smack him around quite a bit, while thrashing to get away. "Should we ask Book-sama?"  
  
Kouji shrugged. "Probably."  
  
Silence.  
  
"Should we call Chiriko?"  
  
"Probably," answered Tasuki.  
  
More silence.  
  
Tasuki stretched slightly. "I'll ask Book-sama, and you call Chiriko."  
  
~*~  
  
"This..." growled a soft voice, "is getting... annoying." The teen dropped the boulder he had been looking under. "Yahiko-san. This isn't working."  
  
"I know, I know," Yahiko grumbled back. "But we have to keep looking."  
  
"No kidding," added on Kaoru, whacking some bushes with a stick. "Who knows what'll happen next full moon, if he's still alive."  
  
Hibiki Ryouga sighed. They were right, of course. But he couldn't help but feel... Something big was happening. And since they were out here, he wasn't going to know until tomorrow. And if there was one thing that annoyed the seventeen year old, it was getting left out of the loop.  
  
He walked over to another boulder, gripping the sides and lifting it from the ground with astonishing ease. Especially so, considering that it was nearly as big as a car. He lifted it over his head, eyes searching the area that had been under and around the boulder. Nothing. "This is so boring." He wished Ranma was here. He dropped the boulder at that thought. He did _not_ just think that. Well, it wasn't like it really mattered anyway. At least if Ranma was here, there would be something to do other than look under big rocks. "Ch'." He blew his hair out of his eyes. "We aren't going to find him, you know."  
  
"You're probably right," Yahiko grumbled.  
  
Kaoru scowled at them. "Well, if you think _that_ way, we're never going to get anywhere!"  
  
Ryouga scowled back. "Maybe Saotome would be able to find him, but I'd probably end up on the other side of the country if it weren't for this thing." He pointed at his bandana. "Ch'. I'm... going back to town. We're getting nowhere fast." He turned, just as a loud crackle sounded out overhead.  
  
Suddenly, ice cold sleet sluiced down from the heavens, coating him, and activating a really annoying curse. Hibiki Ryouga was no longer a boy, but a beast. Not just any beast either, but a one foot long beast with black fur and... Well, he was little. Not just little, but as far as wolves were concerned, about the right size to snack on. And probably would taste good roasted on an open fire. Where the boy had stood... was a little black piglet, bandana around his neck, and clothes pooled on the ground around him.  
  
And all Yahiko could do on the way back, carrying the little thing, was laugh.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
(1) Nine foot? With a three or four foot long handle/hilt/shaft? Correct me if I'm wrong.  
  
(2) Jiminy. Jiminy Cricket. The cricket that acts as Pinocchio's conscience.  
  
~*~  
  
FFN Reviews:  
  
Danyella Skyler Silverfire: Yeah, ain't he?  
  
Molly-chan the Anime/Game fan: Nopers. I had someone on AFF say the same. ^^ Actually, Subaru had green eyes, and he lost that eye in 1999... Which comes after this ficcy, actually. Or else I wouldn't be able to bring in Seishirou-san... 'cause then he'd be dead. ^^'  
  
the Ghost of Jonouchi: Nice suspense, ne? ^^  
  
Sorrow/Dark Star Goddess: ^^ Tasuki is a really brash sort. ^^ Loud, likes to drink, and that kind of thing. In Fushigi Yuugi, he was about... 16, looked a bit older than that; Kouji was close to the same, with a thin scar over one cheek; Chiriko was 13, but looked 6. ^^ It was adorable. I'm glad that things are starting to make sense... (If you ever watch Fushigi Yuugi... don't watch the dub!! They ruined Tasuki's voice... and changed Chichiri's "na no da"s to "yanno"s.) Yes, poor Jou... ^^. Don't worry too much about him though. And the dream... I dunno. I thought that would be kinda freaky, but I might give it a purpose. 


	10. More Vampiric Problems

Title: Silver and Cold  
  
Chapter: 10/?  
  
Chapter Title: More Vampiric Problems  
  
Current Rating: R? (Just to be safe.)  
  
Author: Kage Kashu  
  
Archive: FF, Dragon's Lair, AFF, Mediaminer  
  
Chapter Summary: Uhm, preparation for fighting the vampire, Kushrenada... and fighting the vampire Kushrenada. Kaiba returns, and Sano's still polishing the zanboto.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own any of these lovely characters, but I love them all to death... Uhm, yeah.  
  
Author's notes: First person to figure out who one eye is (per place I post) gets a special cameo appearance. They get to slap the Sakurazukamori's ass without getting retaliated upon... and then, get to walk away, cackling maniacally. ^^  
  
Current guesses that have been made, and were unfortunately wrong: Subaru (Tokyo Babylon/X1999). Kenshin's sensei (Rurouni Kenshin).  
  
Author's notes2: I didn't like how I've been spelling Saitoh, so, from now on, it's Saitou. And I'm even thinking of going back and fixing it.  
  
Warnings: For this chapter? Weirdness... Vampire... fighting... uhm... that's it.  
  
Crossover Shows: Gundam Wing, Fushigi Yuugi, Yugioh, Rurouni Kenshin, Ranma 1/2.  
  
Timeline: AUish, after Noa Arc. Some years later.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
~Couldn't sleep so I went out walking  
  
Thinking about you and hearing us talking  
  
All the things I should have said  
  
Echo now inside my head~  
  
~~Tears From the Moon  
  
Click. Swoosh. Click. Swoosh. Chink. Click. Swoosh.  
  
Kouji twitched in time with the clicking, and Chiriko sat silently, watching his brother. Tasuki was... cleaning his gun, among other things. The three remaining bottles of holy water sat around his feet, along with... some sprayer bottles, filled with something much worse. Gasoline. Tasuki had had this gasoline blessed, in much the same way as he'd had the water blessed. It was perfect, he had said at the time, if they ever had to fight a vampire.  
  
Not too long afterwards, he'd had a run-in. One that had caused him to go home, filling the sprayer bottles with it, and go chasing the creature. He'd apparently nearly drowned himself in an open grave at the time, too, as it had been raining terribly around that time.  
  
But that was beyond the point. Currently, Tasuki was... well, he looked to be preparing for war. In the dawn light that poured through the window, it was something to see. Especially considering that Tasuki had an insane glint in his eye, one that spelled trouble for the vampire if Tasuki was able to have his way.  
  
Click. Click. Chink. Click. Click. Chink. Thunk.  
  
And that was gun number one.  
  
Chiriko cleared his throat. Tasuki didn't even glance up. He did it more loudly. A brief glance let him know that Tasuki was, indeed, and in spite of all appearances, in the land of the living, so he took it as an opportunity to speak up. "Aren't you being a bit..."  
  
"Irrational?" interrupted Kouji.  
  
Click. Swoosh. Click. Swoosh. Chink. Click. Swoosh.  
  
Tasuki apparently didn't find that worthy of reply. His hands worked over the items in his lap with a form of efficiency that only a long-time cop or soldier would have. Or any other person who worked constantly with guns from an early age. Not that Tasuki even needed the guns. But it would be nice to have something to distract the vampire while he got close enough to spray the gasoline onto him.  
  
Click. Click. Chink. Click. Click. Chink. Thunk.  
  
"Do you think that two guns'll be enough?" asked Kouji sourly.  
  
There was a long moment of silence. "These are for you two."  
  
Chiriko choked. "I don't..." he coughed. "I'm not even in shape, Tasuki! I haven't worked in the field in years."  
  
"That's why you'll need a gun."  
  
Mildly annoyed, Kouji asked, "And why would I need one?"  
  
"'Cause you're a null."  
  
"..." Kouji was silent for a moment. "So... I should probably have more than just a gun, then, huh?"  
  
Tasuki shifted slightly, pulling something from beside him. He tugged at it... and it unfolded. There must have been like, twenty stakes in that thing!  
  
Chiriko choked again. "What the... No. When did you get that?"  
  
Tasuki shrugged. "Got it at a yard sale."  
  
Kouji blinked. "What's that?" He indicated something on the floor, between them. As he reached out to see, Tasuki's crutch came down on his hand.  
  
"That... is my tessan (1)."  
  
"Where'd you get it?" asked Chiriko, eying it curiously.  
  
"At a yard sale."  
  
Kouji blinked again, turning to Chiriko. "Uhm..."  
  
"What?" he asked, wondering why Kouji was eying him so strangely.  
  
"Didn't you get Book-sama at a yard sale?"  
  
Chiriko nodded. "You'd be surprised at what you can find at a yard sale (2)."  
  
Tasuki shuffled a small box full of blank white papers before handing it to Chiriko. Then he turned to Kouji, "Open Book-sama; ask about anti-vampiric wards. Things that would... slow him down, get him stuck, make him noticeable... Bindings, traps... Find one that'll make 'im glow. And you, Chiriko... start making any of them that would be even slightly useful. Once we have a lot of them, we're taking them down to the park, sticking them onto trees, and imbuing them with power."  
  
~*~  
  
Some of the wards they had placed around the park had been... childish. Really, there was no better word for it. Book-sama had a sense of humor, and swore up and down that the 'stripping ward', as they had nicknamed it, would come in handy. Tasuki had been... very disturbed by that one, actually, but the book had never lied to him before, so... Not to mention that it wasn't even able to do so.  
  
So, the wards were set up, and Katsuya was sent off to Kaiba's, with a bottle of holy water that he was supposed to sip constantly until either one of them called him, or morning. The youngest Jounouchi had been very upset, and vowed to hide himself until morning, while his father and uncles tried their luck with an old vampire.  
  
So, when evening came, they were completely prepared, and waiting out in the park. Chiriko and Kouji, rather terrified, actually, sat together on a bench on the other side of the park, while Tasuki did the same on his side of the park. Tasuki wasn't sure why, really, but he strongly believed that the vampire would come after him first.  
  
"Here, vampy vampy vampy," he sang softly into the evening air. "Leave the children be, and come play with grown men for once."  
  
There hadn't been anything to alert him, so he was shocked when he was suddenly lifted from his seat on the park bench. He was also dropped immediately as the ward on the bench flared to life. Literally. Briefly blinded, the vampire disappeared back into the darkness.  
  
"Shit," Tasuki cursed, as he had missed his opportunity to fry it. It didn't take him long to realize that this vampire had tricks _he_ had never heard about, as the vampire reappeared behind him. This time, it didn't grab him so easily, being as he had turned around, spraying his 'holy' gasoline at it. The vampire jerked away, shocked. Partially about the 'holy' part of it, and partly because this human wasn't just using water, albeit 'holy'.  
  
The vampire pulled up against a tree, starting to disappear into it, when suddenly he began to glow. Tasuki grinned. The 'Vampy-Glow-Me ward', as he had called it. He realized very quickly that the vampire's disappearing act had been little more than a really good zen (3) trick. Now that he was glowing...  
  
Things would be a lot easier.  
  
~*~  
  
Jounouchi Katsuya had, immediately upon finding Mokuba, told him that he'd had... an 'encounter' as his dad liked to say. It was bad, and now his dad was dealing with... the 'problem.' Mokuba had been worried, and Jouno had given him the half finished bottle of water, telling him to drink it. "Blessed water," he told him, "to keep bad things away."  
  
With that, he had left Mokuba, finding himself, minutes later, in Kaiba's home office. He could hide here, he decided. And it would be almost like the taller boy was there, too. The room was so heavily engrained with his scent... It was comforting. He fell asleep in the comforting darkness underneath Kaiba Seto's desk.  
  
~*~  
  
It didn't take Tasuki long to find that the vampire was a _lot_ faster than him as well. The redhead was a really fast man, but a vampire... well, was a lot faster. In close quarters, he could spray the gasoline on it, and attempt to light him... But the damn thing needed to be _close_ for him to do that.  
  
Not to mention that they were in the street, now. The shockingly empty street. Not a single soul wandered out here this night. Which was a good thing, Tasuki suspected. The vampire had left the park after realizing that it was full of some really nasty wards. The glowing one was proving to be the most useful as of yet...  
  
And that zen trick had been the least of his worries, dealing with this creature, as well. Sure, now the vampire was glowing, which meant that Tasuki could see him, no matter what, but that didn't mean that Tasuki could get close enough to fry him. And he'd just found out that the vampire was telekinetic.  
  
He had mostly dodged that signpost that went by, tripping slightly over his own splinted leg... which is what saved him from the other sign. But it was with abject horror that he stared at the car that was now hovering above the vampire and pointing at him. "Iiiiiiiiiiiiiieeeeee (4)!!" he shrieked, as it came toward him. His eyes squinted shut, and then the tortured sound of smashing metal sounded out behind him. "Hn?!" He spun around, the vampire momentarily forgotten, to look at the remains of the car.  
  
It looked like... Burnt out through the middle, just the top still intact, the interior looked like it had melted _around_ him as it passed by him. At that thought, he took a closer look at himself. "Oi," he rolled his eyes at having forgotten his fire. "Surprise surprise!" he said cheerfully to the vampire, who stared at him with a horrified look. "Betcha didn't know about that!"  
  
White hot, sputtering flame surrounded him in an aura which he dampened almost instinctively, grinning at the wide-eyed look from the vampire.  
  
"Yer lucky my son doesn't have good control over his," he growled, advancing on the vampire, who now stood stock still. "Y'da been a cinder 'fore he'd've letcha touch him." He stumbled slightly in his advance, and yowled when the vampire went back into the park.  
  
He stumbled into a run, and stopped when the vampire did. It had the strangest look on it's face. Then it started stripping off its clothes. Tasuki blinked. Oh. The stripping ward. A soft snicker caught in his throat. Let that be the last thing the vamp did. He advanced slowly, with the sprayer bottle.  
  
~*~  
  
Katsuya stiffened, suddenly awake, as something _moved_ in the office. Someone was in here. They couldn't be human, either, because they didn't make a single sound as they crossed the room, leaving the lights off. As the unnamed being moved closer to the desk, his breath caught in his throat.  
  
Finally, unable to hold his breath any longer, it came out in a soft whine, and his hands clamped over his mouth.  
  
"Jounouchi?"  
  
Kaiba?! "K-k--ka-kaiba!?" he whimpered, slightly incredulous. "Just you?" He poked his head out from under the desk. It _was_ Kaiba. Jouno's lips trembled slightly, and he grasped the other boy's legs, hiding his face in them.  
  
"Jounouchi... What happened?" Kaiba sat down in the chair. He winced when the blonde boy started mumbling, crying, whimpering into his knee. Unsure of what else to do, he petted Jouno's hair for a moment, and then just ran his fingers through the other's hair, trying to calm him down.  
  
It took a while for Jouno's speech to become coherent, but even before that, the little Kaiba could hear made him angry. Not necessarily at his sire, although that was there too, but at himself. It was his fault, really, the entire thing.  
  
"Not yer fault," Jounouchi mumbled against his leg. The blonde looked up at him, face blotched from crying. "You 'n Yuug'. Always the same thing." He rested his face back against Kaiba's knee. "Always thinkin' that the bad thing's are your fault."  
  
After a few minutes of silence from the blonde, Kaiba realized that Jouno had gone to sleep. "Let's just wait for that phone call."  
  
~*~  
  
Hibiki Ryouga glared at the leader of the pack, his second, and his head bitch... and Yahiko. "Why can't we go?"  
  
Sagara Sanosuke sat on the counter, silently polishing his zanboto. The other's had backed down fairly quickly, but Ryouga was fairly new to the pack. Kaoru was standing next to Sagara, watching the motion of the pack leader's hands, nervously. Mai was giving the older were much the same look. And Yahiko... was giving Sagara a rather surely stare.  
  
"Sagara-san. Aren't you gonna give me an answer?" The other's, minus one oddly quiet Sagara, winced at the absurdly loud demand.  
  
Sagara sighed, and looked up at him. "Hibiki..." He shook his head. "I may not like him very much, but I trust Saitou's judgment."  
  
"Don't like him?" Yahiko asked, incredulous. "I thought you hated him. You know, what with the way you two act around each other."  
  
Sagara blinked. "Eh? I don't _hate_ him. I just hate that damned condescending attitude of his. He's rude." The man shrugged, turning the zanboto over, to polish the other side. "Besides, he _said_ that we probably weren't needed to take care of _him_. So, I'd like to take that to mean that something else is happening that we should be watching for." He grinned. "Zanza hasn't gotten any action in ages..."  
  
Kaoru got a disgusted look. "You still call it that?"  
  
He shrugged. "Why not?"  
  
Ryouga growled. "WHY CAN'T WE...!"  
  
"BECAUSE WE AREN'T NEEDED!" Sagara yelled back, into his face. He plopped back down, and continued to polish the gigantic sword. The other's, aside from Ryouga, who was used to that kind of yelling, rubbed their ears.  
  
Kaoru leaned over Sagara's shoulder. "Are you going to wrap it, like you used to?"  
  
The pack leader nodded, seeming very distracted, and taken with the polishing process. Ryouga groaned silently, as that brought to mind one of Yahiko's jokes (5). At Yahiko's raised eyebrow, he leaned forward, mouth almost against the other's ear, and murmured a quiet explanation.  
  
Yahiko doubled over laughing, and Ryouga strove to look as innocent of it as possible. After a moment, though, he couldn't help but grin.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
(1) Tessan. A metal fan that one uses to fight. It's a parrying weapon. Tasuki has one in Fushigi Yuugi. His threw fire. ^^  
  
(2) You can find all sorts of things at yard sales. ^^ Me and a friend were joking about this to each other.  
  
(3) Zen. One with the universe, and all that. ^^  
  
(4) Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiieeeeee! Kinda like yelling Noooooooooo!! Only a lot higher pitched.  
  
(5) Sano was polishing his sword. If you don't get it, you're probably too young to be reading this.  
  
~*~  
  
Reviews:  
  
FREAK014: Oops... I just missed you. Sorry about that. ^^ Still feel flattered. ^^ Heheh. That must have seemed fast for you, ne? lol Kaiba'll be back soon... Poor little guy doesn't know that his ickle puppy's hurt. =@.@=  
  
Molly-chan the Anime/Game fan: Ryouga's great. In spite of his piggy problem, I figured he'd make a great werewolf. If you see the image on the cover of the tankoubon in which he first transforms into P-chan, it's a female Ranma with Ryouga all shadowy in the background, eyes glowing white and going pointy-eared and growing fur... it's cool. And he looked more like he was going wolf than going pig, you know? Also... Jounouchi isn't going to be both. He was given the holy water for a reason. ^^ I just wanted him to get well and bitten. ^^ He may begin to show strangeness unlike any he has before though, hmm... that though... must hold onto that thought.  
  
Danyella Skyler Silverfire: ^^ Feeling the depression kicking in yet?  
  
ShannonL: I doubt you're the only one rooting for that, too. ^^ I know of quite a few others that are probably rooting for the same thing. It'll still cause a bit of weirdness I think. I haven't seen Underworld, but it looked like it would be quite good, actually. Jouno... well, if he's upset enough, he can make it, he just can't really control it... yet. ^^ 


	11. Just What Everyone's Up To

Title: Silver and Cold  
  
Chapter: 11/?  
  
Chapter Title: Just What Everyone's Up To  
  
Current Rating: PG-13 (to be safe)  
  
Author: Kage Kashu  
  
Archive: FF, AFF, Mediaminer  
  
Chapter Summary: Tasuki calls Kaiba, Ryouga gets lost, Sano deals with Mokuba, Akane (Ranma) worries about _things_, and Jouno and Kaiba go to pick up Mokuba.  
  
Disclaimer: Don't own any. Leave me alone about it, will ya?  
  
Author's notes: The guess has been made!!! I don't mind if you guys keep guessing... 'cause it wasn't posted as a review... but the prize has been taken!! Yamai Daiken! She IMed her guess to me. (I think she emailed it too...)  
  
Current guesses that have been made, and were unfortunately wrong: Subaru (Tokyo Babylon/X1999). Kenshin's sensei (Rurouni Kenshin). Chichiri (Fushigi Yuugi). Seishirou (Tokyo Babylon/X1999).  
  
Warnings: For this chapter? A bit of weirdness and a lot of Japanese in use.  
  
Crossover Shows: Fushigi Yuugi, Yugioh, Rurouni Kenshin, Ranma 1/2, Gravitation (manga).  
  
Timeline: AUish, after Noa Arc. Some years later.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
~Crawling in my skin  
  
These wounds, they will not heal  
  
Fear is how I fall  
  
Confusing what is real~  
  
~~ Crawling  
  
Tasuki kicked back on the... couch. Which, unfortunately, was the only piece of furniture that was in good condition. Actually, other than the short table in the kitchen, and numerous bookcases, it was the _only_ piece of furniture. There were pillows to sit on, pallets to sleep on, the couch, the kitchen table, Book-sama, and the bookshelves. And _he_ got the couch. It was getting next to three in the morning, and he figured that he should be calling his son... Trouble being, he didn't know where his son went.  
  
With a soft sigh, he decided to ask Book-sama. Really, it seemed that he was pulling that book out for all sorts of reasons this past month.  
  
~*~  
  
The ringing of the phone on his desk caused Kaiba to jump slightly, as he had gotten used to the silence, and Jounouchi's breathing. His hand reached automatically for it, although, he wondered who was calling him at three in the morning. "Kaiba desu (1)," he murmured tiredly.  
  
"Kaiba?" the voice on the other end sounded surprised. Although Kaiba recognized the voice, he couldn't remember who it was.  
  
"Hai (2). And you?"  
  
"Oi. Ore wa Jounouchi desu (3)," the voice sounded too cheerful now. "Is Katsuya there?"  
  
"Hai. Jounouchi Katsuya is here," Kaiba said, still tired. "He's asleep." And indeed, the blonde was asleep, curled against his legs, just as before. The other boy hadn't budged an inch. Kaiba ran his free hand through the sleeping teen's hair.  
  
"Oi... Well, when he wakes up... Tell him that... We got the perv. He's good and aquainted with one of those little quart jars that we kept in the cupboards." There was a short pause, during which Kaiba could hear someone else talking. "Uhm... Sealed the jar, filled it halfway with the _special_ gasoline... and... uhm... Left it on the coffee table. He might feel better hearing that... Oh! And the book's open. Remember that one... And don't wake him up yet." There was a grin in the voice, and then it sobered abruptly. "And make sure he drinks all of that water. Alright?"  
  
"Hai... May I ask?"  
  
"Nani (4)?"  
  
"What water?"  
  
There was silence for a moment. "Does he have a bottle near him?"  
  
Kaiba searched the floor around Jounouchi for a moment, before shaking his head at the phone. "Iie (5)."  
  
"Shit. Make sure he visits home in the morning, ne, ne?" The elder Jounouchi sounded worried.  
  
"Hai," murmured Kaiba, his eyes drifting shut. He hadn't gotten much sleep lately, and apparently, even vampires needed sleep. "I'll bring him by."  
  
"Arigatou gozaimasu (6)," the man said formally, and then, "Ohayo gozaimasu... Ja matte ne, ne? (7)"  
  
"Hai," he murmured again, hanging up the phone. He decided that he had better get to bed before he fell asleep in the chair, so he carefully lifted Jounouchi, intent on carrying the boy to his room... then realized that he barely had enough steam to make it to his own. He smiled, figuring that a night with Jouno was probably one thing that he truly wouldn't mind.  
  
~*~  
  
A young man with black hair winced in the light of the morning sun. Hibiki Ryouga glanced around the small park he was in, realizing that he had no clue where he was. Taking a deep breath, he let it out of his lungs in an outraged sounding wail, "WHERE THE HELL AM I NOW?"  
  
He blinked as a small teen that stood in front of him shrieked. Loudly. He howled in response, holding his ears. "Aaaaaaaaaaaiiiiiiiiiiii!!!"  
  
"Aaaaoooooooooooooo!!"  
  
A few shattered windows later (there were cars nearby) the young were and the other boy stopped yelling. Then stared at each other for a few long, silent minutes. The other denizens of the park were grateful for the cease in the noise. Ryouga scratched the back of his head, unsure of what to say to the shorter teen that stood before him.  
  
So, instead of saying anything, as he rarely knew what to say anyway, he studied the other. The other was shorter than Ranma, and had wide lavender eyes, and dark, almost black hair. They were both hyperventilating, having startled each other quite a bit. The other boy wore a huge white button- down that was meant for a much larger man and jeans. His hair was mussed, and the shirt was partially buttoned, but it wasn't done well.  
  
Ryouga had to resist the urge to fix it, and was unsure of just where that urge had come from. He hadn't had that kind of problem before. He started when the other finally opened his mouth again.  
  
"Ore wa namae Shindou Shuichi desu (8)." The other boy grinned, holding out his hand.  
  
Ryouga stared at it for a moment. Then he nodded, taking the hand, replying, "Hibiki Ryouga."  
  
~*~  
  
Sagara Sanosuke sighed. His zanboto was laying across his lap again, and he was, again, polishing it. He had been having that urge lately anyway. But he was being very bothered by the boy who was clattering around his shop, making terrible racket. Stupid humans.  
  
"Could you stop that?" he asked the teenager.  
  
Kaiba Mokuba grinned at him, "Seto said to stay here, and since you don't have any decent video games..."  
  
"You're bored," Sano finished for him. Mokuba nodded. "If you want something to do, you could organize the shop. I've been meaning to get that done for a long time..."  
  
Mokuba frowned, "What do I get out of it?"  
  
"Well, for one thing, you'd have something to do besides annoy me. For another, you'd get to have a closer look at those knives I saw you eying." Sano wasn't really sure it would be a good thing to let Mokuba near said knives, but if it kept the boy out of his hair... He shrugged at the thought. "Well?"  
  
"Sounds like you'd be getting more out of it than me." Mokuba frowned. "Your gonna have to better than that, if you want me to do free work."  
  
"If you do that... and do it quietly, I'll let you take home... anything that I deem reasonable, by comparison of how much work you do." Sano nodded. All he really wanted was a bit of quiet, and hoped that that would make the young teen be so for at least a little while.  
  
Mokuba appeared to consider for a minute. "Okay."  
  
Sano nodded. "Then, get to work. However well you do..."  
  
"Yeah, yeah. I know."  
  
~*~  
  
Tendo Akane frowned. She had just checked the mail, and, once again, there was no word from Ryouga. He was always lost, but they always at least got a postcard every month or so. But he had been gone for over half a year, and there had been only one postcard, and that had been five months ago.  
  
Ranma just shrugged it off, but she could tell that he worried about Ryouga as well. Things had been overtly quiet in the past two months, and she was absolutely certain that _something_ had happened to the lost boy. And they still weren't getting any postcards. The main problem was that no one other than Ranma and her even seemed to realize that Ryouga was gone... and that bothered her as much as the fact that he _was_ gone.  
  
About two months ago, Ranma had flipped. The strange, pervasive silence extended from that time. Oddly enough, he hadn't snapped because of all of his fiancés, it had been something else entirely. And it hadn't been his training, either, although Akane would have understood that. It wasn't the constant fighting, or Genma's idiocy, Nodoka's twisted sense of honor, or even Happosai's perversions.  
  
Actually, it had been Xian Pu's (9) treatment of Mu Tsu (10), that had set him off. It wasn't right, he said, treating an honorable man (even if the man had a strange sense of honor) as one would a slave. He may have terrible vision, and a strange obsession, but that was no reason to treat him with such distain. And so, after Neko Hanten was blown up (for the second time in that particular month), he stormed off, cursing about chauvinistic females.  
  
Since then, no one had dared harass Ranma. They didn't dare harass each other, either, after he blew up on Xian Pu for harassing Ukyo. The silence also extended to the dojo, as well. It had surprised everyone when Ranma declared all of his engagements off, as well, but they were afraid to say anything about it.  
  
Two months of silence. Five months without word from Ryouga.  
  
One of the oddest things about this though, was that Happosai was also being quiet. Which was odd, because, of all of them, he had the least sense of self preservation.  
  
She sighed, resolving to talk to Ranma about this. It was all starting to bother her greatly. She had been _used_ to the loudness and violence of everyday life, and now... She felt on edge, and more than a little frightened, because the silence seemed to say that something big was about to happen. And, in her experience, that feeling never had a good ending.  
  
~*~  
  
Jounouchi Katsuya whimpered. Apparently, he had been supposed to drink that holy water for reasons other than to just discourage the vampire. It was part of the treatment to keep him from turning into one. So, although he didn't think he was turning into one, there may be complications, in accordance to what they had been able to get from Book-sama, who, apparently, was glad to be open so much lately.  
  
He had been skipping school for the past few days as well, and, for some reason, so was Mokuba. He was actually just thinking about taking the tests, and graduating early. Maybe getting some scholarships, to go to college early, as well. Maybe not. Maybe he could just take those strange home college courses. Then he wouldn't have to worry about dealing with classmates.  
  
His eyes narrowed at the thin cop who stood across the street from Sagara's Antiques. He would swear up and down that it was the same one as before, too. "Heya," he said, grinning when the man frowned at him. Kaiba snorted behind him, and the man's eyes drifted past Jouno to Kaiba.  
  
An eyebrow lifted, and Kaiba responded, "You too?" Kaiba's voice sounded mildly curious.  
  
Jounouchi took a closer look at the cop. Many would have jumped, seeing the slight, tooth-baring grin, but Jouno was used to his father, so it wasn't exactly a big deal. "Why didn't I notice that before?"  
  
"Notice what?" replied the cop.  
  
"Vampire. Not that I'm all that surprised. It seems to suit you." He laughed when the cop's expression turned disgusted.  
  
"If you're here to visit Sagara, he appears to be in a very odd mood. If you're unlucky, it may be unhealthy to visit."  
  
Jouno felt more than saw Kaiba shrugging behind him. "I left my brother there."  
  
The cop was silent at that. And then, "You had best get him out of there by nightfall, then. That place is a werewolf haunt."  
  
"I know."  
  
The cop didn't reply, but turned away in an almost dismissive fashion.  
  
So, they went to get Mokuba. When they saw the boy, his arm was covered in Band-Aids, and he was playing with several small children. Sano jumped up from his position at the counter as they came in. He put the zanboto back onto it's hooks, before moving to stand right in front of Kaiba.  
  
With a formal bow, he spoke. "I must apologize for... the cubs. Mokuba was playing with them and they... well... uhm..."  
  
Kaiba blinked. "How bad is it?"  
  
"If the infection doesn't bleed out, he'll be a wolf by this coming full moon." Sano scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "He doesn't seem upset by the idea, though, for some reason."  
  
Kaiba twitched, and Jounouchi winced. "Uhm... So... he's gonna turn too?"  
  
Sano nodded. Unsure of what to say, he stood, waiting for Kaiba's reaction. He was rather surprised when Kaiba sighed. "I think I knew, all along, really, that something like this would happen." Kaiba sighed again. "Come here, Mokuba."  
  
"Seto?" the younger Kaiba asked.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Can I have this?" Mokuba held up a sheathed katana for his brother's inspection. "It's got a reversed blade, so I wouldn't hurt anyone with it."  
  
Kaiba took the sword, pulling it slowly from the sheath. He glanced up at Sano, who was still giving him a nervous look. "Is this what it seems to be?"  
  
Sano grinned. "The one and only. I think Kenshin would be glad for this boy to have it, anyway. Not to mention..." he glanced over at Mokuba, who was looking up at him. "He seems to hold quite a few of the same traits as Himura did in his later years." He bowed again.  
  
"Really," Kaiba drawled. "And you know this because...?"  
  
"I used to live with him." Sano grinned.  
  
Jouno rubbed the back of his head. "Uhm... How old are you?"  
  
Sano gave him a blank stare. "Uhm..." He started flicking his fingers, obviously counting on them. "Uhm... 138?"  
  
Kaiba, Jounouchi and Mokuba all settled for just staring. There was no way... Sano looked like he was 36 at most... not... "Anou..." muttered Jouno. "How...?"  
  
Sano shrugged. "I kinda stopped aging, and had to fake my own death several times... Heh. It's kind of annoying, really." He grinned. "I guess it's because I'm a were. Weres, from what I can tell you, age at about..... mmmm... one seventh of the rate a normal human does."  
  
"Eh?"  
  
"Like dog years to a human."  
  
"Oh."  
  
After a long, involved conversation involving the attributes of weres and vampires, they headed off, Jounouchi making mental note of all potentially useful information, and planning on telling his father all about it later.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
(1) Kaiba desu. Pretty much, answering phone with family name. Like saying, "Kaiba residence". Only not.  
  
(2) Hai. Semi-formal "yes".  
  
(3) Oi. Ore wa Jounouchi desu. "Oi. This is Jounouchi."  
  
(4) Nani? "What?"  
  
(5) Iie. Semi-formal "no".  
  
(6) Arigatou gozaimasu. "Thank you very much." Very polite.  
  
(7) Ohayo gozaimasu... Ja matte ne, ne? "Good morning... I'll see you later, right?"  
  
(8) Ore wa namae Shindou Shuichi desu. "My name's Shindou Shuichi."  
  
(9) Xian Pu. Shampoo (of Ranma fame).  
  
(10) Mu Tsu. Mousse (Also of Ranma fame).  
  
~*~  
  
Reviews:  
  
FREAK014: lol Poor Treize. lol ^^ I'm enjoying the thought of driving quite a few people insane with this... ^^ (Fav Quote: My day is not complete until I've terrified a complete stranger.) Disney is... scary sometimes, but at others, it can be so kawaii. I might eventually get around to giving the name of Treize's consort, but I didn't think it'd be very important in this story... considering that they're both going to be quite dead soon. ^^ Although, as I'm planning on writing a sequel...  
  
Molly-chan the Anime/Game fan: You were talking about the vampire stalker, right? ^^ That was Treize Kushrenada from Gundam Wing. ^^ lol  
  
Mistress of Dragons: Heh. I was wondering when someone would say something like that... ^^ Nope. Not Sakurazukamori... (I want him alive, really...) ^^ I like how he says that too... ^________^ He so sexy... 


	12. Oi, Saitou! What Are You Doing?

IMPORTANT: Do not read if you aren't at least 17! Please! Turn back now if ~YAOI~ offends you!  
  
Title: Silver and Cold  
  
Chapter: 12/?  
  
Chapter Title: Oi, Saitou! What _Are_ You Doing?  
  
Current Rating: R (For sure. Not for kiddies.)  
  
Author: Kage Kashu  
  
Archive: FF, AFF, Mediaminer  
  
Chapter Summary: A tiny scene with Kaiba. A really short bit with Tasuki and Chiriko. A long, naughty Saitou/Sano scene. And a really short Yahiko, Kaoru and Mai scene.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own those sexy men... I don't own the chicks either.  
  
Author's notes: The guess has been made!!! I don't mind if you guys keep guessing... 'cause it wasn't posted as a review... but the prize has been taken!! Yamai Daiken! She IMed her guess to me. (I think she emailed it too...)  
  
Current guesses that have been made, and were unfortunately wrong: Subaru (Tokyo Babylon/X1999). Kenshin's sensei (Rurouni Kenshin). Chichiri (Fushigi Yuugi). Seishirou (Tokyo Babylon/X1999).  
  
Warnings: For this chapter? Not much... Except... Something almost pornographic between Saitou and Sanosuke! Inspired by a music video! ^^  
  
Crossover Shows: Yugioh, Fushigi Yuugi, Rurouni Kenshin.  
  
Timeline: AUish, after Noa Arc. Some years later.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
~There's something inside me that pulls beneath the surface  
  
Consuming, confusing  
  
This lack of self control I fear is never ending  
  
Controlling~  
  
~~ Crawling  
  
Creak. Creak. Swoosh. Swoosh. Creak. Creak. Swoosh. Swoosh.  
  
Kaiba twitched. Why it was that they had to bother him in here was beyond him. Jounouchi jumped on his bed, making an annoying creaking noise, while Mokuba swished that sword Sagara had given him around, still in its sheath. He twitched again. And they were in _his_ room. And they wouldn't stop.  
  
Creak. Creak. Swoosh. Swoosh. Creak. Creak. Swoosh. Swoosh.  
  
He growled low in his throat. Really, if this kept up, he was going to 1) go insane, 2) kill them, or 3) throw them out. He decided that option number 3 was the best solution, so he did so. And listened to them whine about it, outside his door. He twitched and locked the door behind him, hoping that they would leave before he actually exploded.  
  
~*~  
  
Tasuki glanced up at his brother, who sat on the floor next to the couch. "You know..." he said, thoughtfully, continuing when Chiriko glanced up at him, "Just how many wards did we put up in that park?"  
  
Chiriko blinked. "I don't know... A couple hundred?"  
  
Tasuki nodded. "I can't even remember where ten were... much less where all of them went..."  
  
"Oh, well," Chiriko shrugged.  
  
~*~  
  
Sagara Sanosuke was just minding his own business, cleaning his shop, which really needed it, when he heard Saitou cursing, loudly, just outside the door. "Hn?" he asked, curiously, and went to check the door. Usually, Saitou Hajime just walked in, not saying anything until Sano noticed him. So, catching him at the door was definitely a nice thought. "Heh, what are you...?" the words died on his lips.  
  
Something was not right with this picture. For one thing, unless there was something wrong with Sano's eyes, Saitou was... glowing. And if he was wrong about that, he was probably wrong that Saitou was leaning heavily against the doorframe, eyes slitted, as though squinting against a bright light, looking like he was about to pass out. And if he was wrong about _that_, he was probably also wrong that Saitou's face was very... flushed. Too flushed. Especially for a vampire.  
  
"Are you alright?" he asked, trying to keep the shock from his voice and his face. The latter was working better than the former, but not by much.  
  
"I dun feel very gud..." Saitou mumbled, staring at -or maybe through- Sano, who felt... weirded out by the whole thing in general, and that in particular. "Kin I talk to you?"  
  
Sano nodded distractedly, holding the door open for the obviously drunken man. Oddly enough, he didn't smell any alcohol. That was strange.  
  
Saitou leaned up against the counter once he had made it there. "It was fucked," was all he had to say.  
  
Sano sighed. For some reason, people came to him when they had problems, and apparently, Saitou had a problem. A fairly big one, too, considering how drunk he seemed. "What was fucked?" he asked.  
  
"I was goin' by the... place. With the trees. And that old lady... the one Hibiki's always complaining about, come by me 'bout fifty... hoppin' on a stick, too, fast little hag. Knocked me so hard into that tree that I couldn't see straight. Still can't..." he leaned in Sano's direction, coming to a rather dangerous angle. By which, it seemed, that Saitou would fall on him. So he wasn't too shocked when the cop did just that.  
  
"Saitou?" he asked. "What are you doing?"  
  
"Can't stand straight... jes' couldn't since I hit that tree... Walked from that, got hit by the old man... ran into another tree... bright flashing... my eyes hurt... 'n then I ran into sommat else, 'n was up in the air, I think, for a minute or so... Then I got attacked by the thing with bars," he mumbled into Sano's shoulder. Nice, warm, comfortable shoulder. Smelled good.  
  
"Hey, cricket face! What are you doing?" Sano asked again, this time, getting pretty upset. Saitou wasn't just leaned on him any more. His arms were pinned to his sides by the vampire... and, unless it was his imagination, Saitou was sniffing his shoulder. "You bite me, I bite you, got it?"  
  
"Good fer you," mumbled the vampire.  
  
"Hey! Don't you dare!" Sano's voice rose. "Besides, you still didn't tell me when you got drunk."  
  
"I'm not drunk." Saitou sounded mildly offended.  
  
"Yes you are," Sano retorted forcibly.  
  
"I am not drunk."  
  
"Yes, you are."  
  
"I am not."  
  
"Yes, you are."  
  
"Am not."  
  
"Are too."  
  
"Am not."  
  
"Are too. Wait, I'm not getting into one of _those_ conversations with _you_ of all people," Sano exclaimed.  
  
Annoyed, Saitou growled, "And what's wrong with me?"  
  
"..." Sano shook his head. "I'm _so_ not getting into that now."  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?" Saitou asked indignantly. He was starting to feel a little more clearheaded, but the position he was in was actually quite comfortable, so he decided to just take advantage of the fact that Sano seemed to think he was drunk. Which he wasn't.  
  
"Too much to get into now, really." Sano shook his head again, noticing that the glow seemed to be going away. "Can you get off of me?"  
  
Saitou sulked quietly for a moment, before replying. "No."  
  
"Get off."  
  
"No." Proving that he didn't plan on going anywhere, he leaned into Sano a bit more heavily, tightening his grip on the other's arms. Damn if he was letting go that easily. He found himself distracted again, by Sano's shoulder, which was bare, considering that the tee he had been wearing was being pulled down by Saitou's grip. He pressed his lips lightly at the juncture of Sano's neck, wondering if Sano would try to kill him for it.  
  
Sano stiffened. "Get off," he squeaked.  
  
"No." Lips parted slightly, and he licked the other man's neck, just barely. He swallowed. Considering how close he was to the were, Sano would be able to tear him apart, limb from limb, once his arms were free... and it wouldn't take much effort for him to free them either. Which meant that either Sano wasn't too upset about things, or, he forgot that he could do that. The thought of Sano doing that... or more, being able to, yet not, sent a slight shiver down his spine. He grinned against the other's neck, before licking again.  
  
Sano's breath hitched slightly, and his back stiffened further. "Saitou... get off of... Quit that!"  
  
"No." He licked once more, before placing his mouth more solidly on the throat. He felt Sano's breath hitch again when he drug a tooth deeply into the skin, and then began lapping and sucking at the blood flowing out from the fresh wound. He was mildly surprised when Sano dropped his head backward, groaning. 'That's nice,' he thought, now perfectly clearheaded. He had wanted to do this before... but considering Sano's violent tendencies, didn't want to risk getting that close.  
  
He was also surprised at Sano's hands gripping his arms when he pressed his tongue against the wound, hoping for more blood. Not bleeding any more. Damn weres, and their superfast healing capabilities. He groaned, vaguely annoyed, and raked his teeth across the tender flesh of the exposed neck, suckling and lapping at the blood that immediately welled up. With a well placed shove, he backed Sano into the counter, and Sano leaned back and partially over the counter. His left hand found an easy grip on Sano's shoulder, while the other placed itself on his hip, as Saitou pressed himself more fully against him.  
  
He growled when that wound also healed over. There was something in a vampire's saliva that supposedly kept the blood flowing. It just didn't work on weres. That didn't prevent him from just repeating the action, though. And Sano just moaned, and seemed to enjoy it. Of course, the blood was good, in and of itself, but the taste, alongside the sounds Sano was making, called up another urge. It strongly called up that other urge. His right hand tightened on Sano's hip, and he _tried_ to get closer. Although, considering that he was already good and pressed against the other, it didn't work too well. But Sano writhed slightly when he did so, and that was _very_ nice.  
  
He groaned into Sano's throat, actually biting this time, as well as thrusting slightly against the were, who sounded like he was having trouble breathing, but thrust right back, moaning on an intake of air. "Saa..."  
  
"Hn?" he asked, working his jaw slightly, to keep the wound from sealing too quickly.  
  
Heavy breathing was the only reply. Well, that figures. He preferred Sano to make the noise, actually, which is why he thrust again, harder. Sano let out another moan, hands tightening convulsively on Saitou's arms. But what had he wanted to say? The hand he'd held on Sano's shoulder moved to cup the back of the other's neck, pulling him up so that Saitou didn't have to lean so far. There, now he had more mobility. He let go of Sano's neck momentarily, in order to press his lips into the other man's. With no resistance, Sano's mouth opened to allow him to run his tongue along the inside of said mouth.  
  
He didn't make the slightest effort to gentle the kiss; he wanted Sano to know exactly what was going on, and how it would be, if he continued. In reply to that, Sano's hands released his arms, moving directly to the body, grabbing and crushing Saitou to him. Momentary shock caused him to lose control of the kiss, and one of Sano's hands went up his back, pressing heavily on it's way, until it gripped his hair. Then it was Sano's tongue in his mouth, pressing the advantage, and ignoring the very sharp incisors that it was being cut upon.  
  
Saitou's fingers dug into Sano's hip and groaned. There was no way... that he was losing control of this. No way.  
  
~*~  
  
Yahiko grinned, dragging Kaoru and Mai behind him, back downstairs. "You should have seen him... He was acting..." He stopped. Okay, this is not what he had been talking about before. He had meant to show Kaoru and Mai the really amusing sight of Saitou acting like he was drugged... not... What the hell were they doing?  
  
Mai and Kaoru stared. And drooled. That was... Kaoru grinned, settling herself in for the show. And was glad that she had brought her camera.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
~*~  
  
Reviews: None. Oh well. 


	13. The Morning After

Title: Silver and Cold  
  
Chapter: 13/?  
  
Chapter Title: The Morning After  
  
Current Rating: PG-13, R (maybe?)  
  
Author: Kage Kashu  
  
Archive: FF, AFF, Mediaminer  
  
Chapter Summary: Kaiba wakes up, Tasuki's at work, Sano deals with the aftereffects... And there seems to be some sort of funeral going on...  
  
Disclaimer: Mou, do I have to say it?  
  
Author's notes: The guess has been made!!! I don't mind if you guys keep guessing... 'cause it wasn't posted as a review... but the prize has been taken!! Yamai Daiken! She IMed her guess to me. (I think she emailed it too...)  
  
Current guesses that have been made, and were unfortunately wrong: Subaru (Tokyo Babylon/X1999). Kenshin's sensei (Rurouni Kenshin). Chichiri (Fushigi Yuugi). Seishirou (Tokyo Babylon/X1999). Hikitsu (Unknown.). Trowa (Gundam Wing).  
  
Warnings: For this chapter? Ehhrr... Nudity? Smoking? Not necessarily in that order.  
  
Crossover Shows: Yugioh, Fushigi Yuugi, Rurouni Kenshin, Ranma 1/2.  
  
Timeline: AUish, after Noa Arc. Some years later.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
~I can't seem  
  
To find myself again  
  
My walls are closing in  
  
Without a sense of confidence  
  
I'm convinced that it's just too much pressure to take  
  
I've felt this way before  
  
So insecure~  
  
~~ Crawling  
  
Kaiba Seto, the rich and famous, eyed the ceiling of his bedroom. He was feeling a lot more comfortable, and content, than usual, and wasn't exactly sure why. Usually, a heavy weight across one's stomach doesn't make one comfortable. A glance down told him what he had been half expecting. Jounouchi Katsuya, curled up and mostly clothed, lying across his chest and stomach. When had he gotten there, anyway?  
  
He tapped the blonde's skull with an index finger, pondering. Then he realized... They couldn't lie like this much longer. He had school. Jouno had school. He tapped a little harder, annoyed that it didn't elicit a response. Finally, he shook the other boy. And that didn't get a response either.  
  
"Jounouchi Katsuya!" he growled, slightly appeased when Jouno's eyes opened. "We have school today."  
  
The blonde's eyelids drooped. "I haven't been going..."  
  
"You're going today," Kaiba grunted, sitting up, and dragging Jouno with him, off of the bed. "How'd you end up in here, anyway?"  
  
Jounouchi blinked from his newfound place on the floor. "Naaaa...? Oh... I didn't want to sleep alone..."  
  
A distinct sweatdrop formed at the back of Kaiba's head. He opened his mouth, and after a minute, the words finally came. "We have to get going..."  
  
~*~  
  
Jounouchi Tasuki was already at work. He'd stopped to get his mail on the way out. And now... Well, there was a bunch of weird stuff in it. Not that Tasuki wasn't used to weird, really, but it had never shown up in his _mail_ for crying out loud. Something about some "Dark Court", hmm... maybe it was one of those adds for a movie or something... And something from his son's school. Actually, a few something's from Katsuya's school. One of the things was...  
  
'Your student has missed five or more days of school...' Ch', he really hated those kind of things. Really, if Katsuya missed school, he missed school. He really didn't see what they were bitching about. The next one... Something about parent/teacher conferences. Hell if he was going to another one of those. Last time hadn't turned out to well... But then again, he shouldn't have been drinking before hand either, he supposed.  
  
The last one was... Career day? Did that mean that he could go in and traumatize students about his job? Either encouraging them to get a similar one, or scare them away from it? That sounded like it may be fun. He checked the date on it. Hm... it was in couple of days. A grin crossed Tasuki's face. What he didn't notice was Kouji, on the other side of the office, trying to get further away from him.  
  
~*~  
  
Sanosuke frowned at the mirror in front of him. He wasn't sure if he was upset or not, about last night. It _had_ been a lot more pleasant than his previous experiences, but... Until last night, he was absolutely certain that Saitou had hated him. Doing that... You can't really enjoy doing something like that if you hated someone, could you?  
  
He glanced surreptitiously at the bed, noting that, yes, Saitou was still there. Unfortunately, he couldn't even talk to the man now. He was still unconscious... Or so it seemed. He was sure that if Saitou felt threatened, he would be up instantaneously, and ready to fight, naked or not.  
  
He sighed. This... was getting depressing. It had taken a long time to admit it to himself, but that little girl had been right. He _did_ like Saitou, or he would never have obsessed over the man the way he had when he was younger. Another sigh went through his lips, and he eyed the man that still lay silently on his bed.  
  
It would be an exaggeration, to say that Saitou looked peaceful sleeping, but Sanosuke had doubts as to whether or not the man was ever truly resting. He looked _nicer_ though, that way. His face was somewhat relaxed, excepting when the man frowned, as Sanosuke noticed him doing occasionally in his sleep. He wasn't scowling at anyone, glaring, or giving that psycho grin, the one that sent chills down the spines of even the most hardened of criminals. Perhaps, that was why he was a cop. He wondered, vaguely, what Saitou and Masafumi would have thought of each other. Masafumi probably would have hated Saitou. And Saitou... Well, he'd have most likely said "Aku. Soku. Zan." Then killed the guy. Of course, that would be if Saitou thought of the man as being evil.  
  
He patted the floor about him, in search of clothes that had been carelessly strewn about the room upon their entry of it. After a few minutes of doing that, and continuing to stare at the sleeping cop, he found cloth. He pulled it towards himself, noting that it was Saitou's pants. Oh well. Without much though, he pulled them on, questioning himself over what was in the pocket.  
  
Cigarettes. He snorted to himself. That figured. It wasn't really bothersome at the moment though. Almost curiously, he checked the pockets to see if there was a lighter as well. He wasn't really surprised to find one. He fumbled with it, and a cigarette for a moment before switching the cigarette to his almost useless right hand, and the lighter to his left. Finally, he got the cigarette lit, and just stared at it.  
  
It smelled horrible. But... Nicotine was supposed to have a calming affect, and he could use that right now.  
  
There wasn't really much to think about concerning the night before. Except... it _had_ been different. Actually, he had thought that it wouldn't be pleasant at all. Saitou _was_ after all, a vampire, as well as just being violent in general. His right hand shook slightly, and he dropped the lighter, switching the cigarette to his left hand. He wasn't even sure if he had planned on smoking it...  
  
In a slightly self-disgusted fit, he bit onto the end of the cigarette, inhaling the smoke. It left him trying not to cough, and slightly sick to his stomach. The second drag wasn't as bad, but still...  
  
After a few tries, he got slightly used to it, although, it still tasted horrible. It hadn't tasted so bad the night before, though... He sighed around the cigarette, staring in the mirror again. He could see the bed in it, so he saw exactly when Saitou opened his eyes. He wondered if the vampire had anything to say about it. He could, quite easily blame the whole thing on Saitou, as it had been Saitou to start it, but... He knew that if he had really wanted Saitou to stop, he would have.  
  
He sighed again, waiting for Saitou to speak, and knowing that the other man would, inevitably. Although, from the look on Saitou's face, he was expected to speak first. He snorted softly to himself. 'Sorry, cricket face, but you get to go first.'  
  
Noting Saitou's unblinking stare at him, and knowing that he should probably feel uncomfortable, he frowned at the other man through the mirror. 'Say something, damnit,' he cursed internally.  
  
Saitou's lips thinned slightly, and the man sat up. Still quite naked, he stood and moved to sit next to Sanosuke. "What drove you to wear my pants?" the man finally asked, obviously staying away from the subject on both of their minds.  
  
Sanosuke shrugged. "They were there. I wanted to put something on."  
  
A soft grumble of a laugh escaped the other's throat. "And the cigarette?"  
  
He didn't really have an answer to that. So, instead of answering, he eyed the other man's face and asked, "What brought that on?"  
  
A blink. "What brought what on?"  
  
"Last night." He fiddled with the cigarette, rather annoyed that it wasn't much help.  
  
Silence for a moment. A sigh. Finally, the older man answered. "I had been meaning to do that for a while."  
  
Really? Now that was interesting. "Really?"  
  
Saitou nodded. "I hadn't thought you would be..."  
  
"Receptive to advances?" Sanosuke chuckled. Forget the cigarette. This was much better.  
  
~*~  
  
The incense was too strong to be used in such a small shop, Ryouga decided. It made his eyes water, and he hated it... because it made him look like he was crying. Not that he didn't ever cry. He just didn't want people thinking he was crying when he wasn't.  
  
"Alas," Mai was saying, "for I knew it well..."  
  
He eyed the little makeshift funeral altar Mai and Kaoru had made. It looked like any other funeral alter, incense and all, even a photo. Why exactly they were mourning _that_ though, was beyond his understanding. The picture on the little altar was of Sagara's posterior regions, thankfully clothed. Nice clothes, too, he commented to himself. What really bothered him about the whole arrangement, though... Was that he didn't have a single clue as to why they were mourning for Sagara-san's ass.  
  
Yahiko seemed to think that the whole deal was funny, too, but, like Ryouga, had decided to stay on the edge of it. Finally, Ryouga managed to corner him. "What exactly are they going off about?"  
  
Yahiko grinned, shaking his head. "That they never managed to get Sano in the sack, and all of a sudden, here comes Psycho Cop... Heheh."  
  
Ryouga frowned, confused. He still wasn't sure what that was all about, but... Maybe that camera he had snagged this morning would be of some help, with an explanation. He was rather focused on this, and so missed Sagara's entrance, but he heard him, all right. "What exactly do you think you're doing?"  
  
Mai and Kaoru leaned away from him. "We're... uhm..."  
  
Sagara glowered at the tiny altar that had been erected, apparently, for his rear. Understanding dawned on the man's face, and then anger. Ryouga wasn't sure what happened next, because he couldn't _see_ it. He heard a few booty calls, hoots and hollers, and something crashing into the floor. When the air cleared, Sagara Sanosuke was slamming the front door, leaving Mai and Kaoru in rather uncomfortable positions on the floor.  
  
From the archway into the back, that scary cop spoke, "So, he wasn't a virgin."  
  
What did that have to do with anything?  
  
And then, Saitou followed Sagara out the door.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
~*~  
  
Reviews:  
  
Molly-chan the Anime/Game fan: ^^ Yes...... hotness. ^^ And, here's the next chappy, of course...  
  
Kaneda-Shotaru and Yami Tetsuo: Thank you!  
  
CharcoalCat: Mmmmmmmm..... Yeah. Nummy. ^.~  
  
FREAK014: ^^ That's okay, I'm into a bit of weirdness, and let's just say that Ranma is so harassed that it's surprising that he didn't actually snap during the anime... Shuichi... well, there will be a reason, although, he's not all that necessary so early in the fic... And, yeah, I understand the want of a lemon, but... 1) I don't want to get in trouble of FF, and 2) I'm kinda scared of trying to write one... =.=' Yeah. Oh, the torture. Hope you liked this one as well... ^^  
  
Danyella Skyler Silverfire: Kinky? Just... Kinky? Why just kinky?  
  
crystal rosethorn: ^^ Caps lock.... Heheh. I've had it happen to me, too...  
  
Tabris: Hikitsu? (I don't know who Hikitsu is...) But, just so you know, the prize has already been won, and I'll introduce the guy's grave soon... ^^ 


	14. Supposedly Unfounded Worries

Title: Silver and Cold  
  
Chapter: 14/?  
  
Chapter Title: Supposedly Unfounded Worries  
  
Current Rating: PG-13  
  
Author: Kage Kashu  
  
Archive: FF, AFF, Mediaminer  
  
Chapter Summary: Uhm... Jouno plots to keep his dad from doing career day, and in the meantime Shizuka pays a visit. And Sano gets caught up in... weirdness, but catches up with an old friend.  
  
Disclaimer: No no no. Not mine. Not that I'd mind. Having them, that is.  
  
Author's notes: The guess has been made!!! I don't mind if you guys keep guessing... 'cause it wasn't posted as a review... but the prize has been taken!! Yamai Daiken! She IMed her guess to me. (I think she emailed it too...)  
  
Current guesses that have been made, and were unfortunately wrong: Subaru (Tokyo Babylon/X1999). Kenshin's sensei (Rurouni Kenshin). Chichiri (Fushigi Yuugi). Seishirou (Tokyo Babylon/X1999). Hikitsu (Unknown.). Trowa (Gundam Wing).  
  
Warnings: For this chapter? Weirdness. More weirdness and a smidgeon of violence.  
  
Crossover Shows: YuGiOh, Fushigi Yuugi, and... *unknown*!  
  
Timeline: AUish, after Noa Arc. Some years later.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
~ Discomfort  
  
Endlessly has pulled itself upon me  
  
Distracting, reacting  
  
Against my will  
  
I stand beside my own reflection  
  
It's haunting how I can't seem...  
  
To find myself again  
  
My walls are closing in  
  
Without a sense of confidence  
  
I'm convinced that there's just too much pressure to take  
  
I've felt this way before  
  
So insecure ~  
  
~~ Crawling  
  
It wasn't all that much of a surprise. Kaiba Seto had seen it happen quite a few times during his years in school. What surprised him was Jounouchi's reaction. "Are you ashamed of your father, or something?"  
  
Jouno shook his head, pouting. "He _can't_ get a hold of that... They did say they sent the papers home, right? I've managed to keep him out of it every year, and he didn't even know..."  
  
Kaiba snorted. "It's tomorrow."  
  
"That doesn't give me much time then, huh?" Jouno asked, completely ignoring the original question.  
  
Kaiba scowled at the blonde. "What is it that you find so horrible about your father coming to school for career day?"  
  
The blonde being questioned snorted. "You wouldn't have to worry about that, as you can give your own presentation... Heh, yer probably expected to. But... My dad... He's... Damn. I really don't know how to put it, but... He might give the other kids ideas, as it were."  
  
"Ideas?"  
  
Jounouchi scratched at his back. "Yeah... He's not exactly... careful. His job..."  
  
"What is his job, anyway?"  
  
He blinked. "Uhm... Actually, he's a policeman. A really good policeman, who's got everyone at his department afraid of him... Although, Uncle Chiriko says it's the fangs."  
  
Kaiba blinked as well. Fangs? He didn't remember any fangs on the redheaded man. Although, the guy was rather interesting looking, especially for modern society. Androgynous wasn't quite the word, for Jounouchi Tasuki had been masculine in appearance, but Kaiba had never seen another male wear dangly earrings. "Fangs?"  
  
Jouno scratched the back of his head. "Erh... He gets mad if you call them that. Says that he _doesn't_ have fangs. But, they may as well be. He has very prominent canines." He laughed. "And, as far as I know, he's completely human, if you ignore the pyro thing." He shook his head. "But that's not the point (1)." An odd look crossed his face and he snickered.  
  
"Ch'. Just when I'm beginning to think that you may be an intelligent individual..."  
  
"Sorry, it's just... Yeah. Not the point. Point being, how am I going to prevent him from going? I'm fairly sure that he's been checking his own mail these past few weeks, so he probably already has the paper..." He gave a frustrated sigh.  
  
"And what exactly is the problem with this?" Kaiba raised an eyebrow at the other, who for some reason seemed upset about his father visiting the school.  
  
"You know the last parent/teacher conferences? He was the one who showed up drunk. I doubt he would do that early in the day, though... No, instead, he's going to traumatize me, and Honda's going to make jokes about how flaming..." Jouno snorted again. "But yeah. And that's not the worst of it. Considering that he gets into really nasty messes... I'm most worried that he'd give a graphic description of some of the jobs that he's been on... things that I myself had never wanted to hear about in such detail." He started tapping his foot on the table. "Although, I think he was just complaining about that to Uncle Kouji, and hadn't really meant for me to hear it..."  
  
"Messy, huh?"  
  
"Things that would make... Honda ill. Make Yami Bakura ill. Although, I'm not sure if the latter is even possible..." He nearly leapt out of his skin when another voice sounded out behind him.  
  
"Not sure what's possible?" Otogi.  
  
"Oh, hey Otogi. Wassup?" Jouno asked, noting, from the corner of his eye, Kaiba edging away. Ah, so everyone else was showing up too.  
  
"Not much. Who do you doubt has the ability to get ill?" Otogi repeated, almost cheerfully. His eyes narrowed at Kaiba, who was still edging away from the table. "What's with him?"  
  
"Ne, Kaiba, glad it's overcast, ne ne?" Jouno joked, as Kaiba found himself a seat under a nearby tree. "Actually, I was saying that of Yami Bakura, who I think would love the distinction." He grinned.  
  
"Of lacking the ability to be ill just because...?"  
  
"Graphic descriptions of decapitations and the like. And I had to hear all about this stuff for years." Jounouchi shook his head. "Dad doesn't really recognize that some people don't have cast iron stomachs, like he seems to." He sighed.  
  
And Honda popped in with an amused, "Your dad?"  
  
Jouno rubbed the back of his head. "Oh, yeah, he scared the shit outta ya, that one time, didn't he?"  
  
Honda snorted. "I didn't even really see him... All _I_ saw, was that bottle, and it was coming right at me..."  
  
Jounouchi groaned. "Yeah, and yer gonna get a chance to see him tomorrow, if I don't do something to distract him..." He hit his head on the table, several inches from where his foot rested. He didn't notice the wide eyed looks the others were giving him for the unnatural position he was sitting in.  
  
Otogi's voice sounded a little husky when he next spoke, "Ah, now I see why the illustrious Kaiba Seto likes you so much..."  
  
"What?" He craned his neck to the side, the position looking even more unnatural, to look at the Dice Master. "What're you talking about?" He blinked at the looks on the faces of his friends. Even Yuugi was looking at him all weird. "What? What?!"  
  
Honda swallowed audibly, looking away. "You... might wanna move. Yer gonna get a crick in your neck if you keep..."  
  
He was interrupted by Otogi, "No, no. That looks _interesting_."  
  
Jounouchi blinked at them, then pondered what exactly about his position was so interesting. It hadn't seemed that interesting when he had gotten into it, but... now that he thought about it... Otogi was probably meaning his flexibility. Which hadn't actually been so noticeable, before... Maybe it had something to do with becoming a werewolf?  
  
He snorted at them, loudly. "It's not something vulgar, Otogi. Dun know where you got that idea..." With a natural ease, he slipped back into his original position. "Hey, guys, quit looking at me like that..."  
  
They all flushed guiltily, looking away. If they looked at him like that the rest of the day... this was going to get really old, really fast.  
  
~*~  
  
In this case... It wasn't really a surprise. At least, not to Shizuka, who had always known her father to be a bit of a mess maker. Although, her brother Katsuya had usually kept it from getting this bad. She snorted as she tripped over a pile of books that she hadn't noticed.  
  
It's not that the place wasn't clean, it was just... Well, it looked like her dad had been on a rip, not once, but at least five times, recently, and hadn't bothered to pick up the books afterward. If it were actually dirty as well, she would have been disgusted. As it was... If she tripped over one more pile of books on her way to the living room, she would be.  
  
"Dad? Are you here?"  
  
A muffled grunt from the couch let her know exactly where her father was.  
  
"Touchan!!" she cried, diving for the sofa. She reeled back when he sat up though, and laughed at him. "What happened?"  
  
He frowned at her, and then grinned, "Shizu-chan!" He hopped from the couch, in a rather undignified manner, and rushed to hug her. "What are you doing here, Koneko-chan?"  
  
She grinned. "Okaasan had some stuff she had to do... So I get to stay with you for a while!"  
  
He scratched his head. "Uhm... The house is..."  
  
They both winced at the pained holler from the kitchen. "Kouji-niichan?" she asked, a little surprised when the darkhaired man stumbled out of the kitchen. He looked as if he had caught himself on fire. "Oh, Kouji-nii, what did you do to yourself?"  
  
He coughed slightly, eyes watering for a moment. "Shu-chan?" Then he grinned, and tried to wipe the soot from his face.  
  
She glanced to her father. "I need to use the restroom for a minute. I'll be back in a couple."  
  
~*~  
  
A few minutes later, she was washing her hands. She stared in the mirror for a moment. There seemed to be something... A snake? In the mirror? It was... She shrieked in horror when the creature came through the mirror at her. "Touchan!!!"  
  
She fell to her knees as it writhed closer. It wasn't just any type of snake, either. It was a cobra. She whined as it came down from the sink to circle her. It let out a soft hiss, and as clear as day, she heard the words.  
  
"Do not be afraid. It is a gift. You have taken up the spirit..." (2)  
  
Next thing she knew, her shoulders were being shaken by her father, who looked slightly panicked. "Are you okay, Shu-chan?"  
  
She breathed heavily for a moment, nodding. "I..." She glanced back up at the mirror. "I thought I saw something..."  
  
~*~  
  
Saitou Hajime didn't really like going about during the day time, but he didn't really have much control over his job specifics. Of course, if he wanted to bother, he could get it changed, but he kinda liked the beat he was given... If only it was at night.  
  
Not that he really could complain. If he had a night beat, he wouldn't have seen Sanosuke sneaking out of his shop in the bright noon sun. What was the local pack leader doing now? So, it wasn't as if today had to be boring. Nothing happened in this neighborhood anyway, so, when something was out of the norm, he was even more apt to... well, follow up, as it were.  
  
That's right. He had decided to follow the brunette. Not that he wouldn't have, otherwise, but now, there was an actual pull to do so. So it was that he found himself stalking Sanosuke from the shadows in the downtown warehouse district. Sanosuke was actually _sneaking_, which belied any thought Saitou had of this being an innocent endeavor.  
  
The younger man hopped slightly a short distance ahead of him, and sidled along the wall. What the hell _was_ Sanosuke up to?  
  
Normally, Saitou wouldn't have thought it, but with the way Sano was moving currently... He would have made a better cat than a wolf. Maybe. Or even better, if those stupid people working with genetics ever managed it, a cat/wolf creature. Because the were seemed to be caught between the two. But then again, werewolves weren't true wolves to begin with, so it didn't really matter.  
  
He watched from a safe distance (He didn't exactly want Sanosuke to be angry with him, especially after the other night...) as Sanosuke sidled further, up to a door. There was a pensive look on the brunette's face. Like he was worried about something. As Saitou had half expected, Sanosuke slipped through the door with no further ado. Not sure why exactly he was worried, he followed.  
  
His eyes adjusted quickly to the darkness within, and his eyes widened at the sight. There were ten weres that he could see. And from the look on Sanosuke's face, he could tell that they were there, but his eyes hadn't yet adjusted. He cursed silently as one of them lunged at the currently blind werewolf. His own lung was much faster, and took Sanosuke out of harm's way. The were that lunged had had a sword.  
  
Sanosuke grunted as he hit the floor underneath Saitou. "What the fuck!?!"  
  
Saitou hissed into his ear, "I think you should be glad I followed you." He spun around, shifting slightly to the side as that same were came at him again. So slow. There was a time when he wouldn't have thought that these creatures weren't fast... but that time was so long ago that it was barely a spec in his memory.  
  
He lashed out with a stiffened hand, and was satisfied that the wannabe swordsman fell, his neck cracking under the heel of Saitou's hand. His eyes dropped to Sanosuke, who was scrambling to his feet, eyes having obviously adjusted to the darkness of the warehouse. Once Sanosuke joined the fight...  
  
Well, the other nine were nothing. Saitou had the feeling that if someone with Sanosuke's strength, and his own speed, ever came along, and they had to fight... Well, that was just a nasty prospect. He was just glad that the Battousai had never become a were, or a vampire. For a human, his strength and speed had already been unnatural.  
  
Silence reigned for a few minutes. Finally, Sanosuke shifted uncomfortably and grumbled. "So... What happens to the bodies?"  
  
An annoyed grunt sounded out, and they looked at each other, surprised. "..."  
  
"Uhm..." Sanosuke glanced around, unsure of where the sound had come from. He sniffed a few times and got a shocked look on his face. Saitou was surprised when the look turned happy. Really happy. "Rokanu!! (3)"  
  
Rokanu? Who was that? Saitou frowned thoughtfully, following Sanosuke to the source of the annoyed sounds. As he stared at the man who was _chained_ up, against the wall, it finally came to him. Rokanu was the man who had helped Sanosuke get back from China. (4) Sanosuke had talked about him a lot, complaining a bit about the man just running off to America.  
  
The man ceased his struggle against the chains, very heavy chains too, by the look of it, to glance up at the cheerful voice. "Sanosuke?" The voice was harsh and gravelly, almost to the point of being a deep growl. The man looked almost as harsh as his voice sounded. Not as harsh as Saitou himself looked, but... He also had a distinctly Western flavor to his appearance.  
  
"Wow, man, it's been ages! You don't look a year older!" Sanosuke laughed.  
  
"That's an exaggeration," the man grumbled. "Could you please...?"  
  
Another laugh. "Of course. What're you doing here, Rokanu? Last I heard, you were going to... what was it... Canada?" Sanosuke acquiesced to the request with an easy grin.  
  
The man, once free, gave a disdainful sniff, and kicked at the chains. Then he glanced over at Sanosuke, apparently not even noticing Saitou standing less than a yard away. "How did you know I was here? Did Kamiya- san call you?"  
  
Sanosuke tipped his head to the side. "Should she have?" He sounded amused. "I felt something familiar... And trouble, you know... So I went to check it out." He snorted, turning to eye the shadows. "I guess it's a good thing that I was followed... Dunno why, but I kinda expected him to stick around..."  
  
With a start, Saitou realized that Sanosuke thought he had left. In response to that thought, and Sanosuke's revealing that to him, he chuckled. Loudly. And was gratified when both of them nearly leapt out of their skins.  
  
"Mother fucking...!!" Sanosuke cursed. "Bakayarou!! Korogi, sudare-faced cockroach!!"  
  
Rokanu's words were similar, though less personal, and in English.  
  
"What the fuck you think yer doing, Saitou! Scare the living shit outta me, will ya!"  
  
Saitou managed to cut off the chuckle at about that time, although, he lent an amused ear to whatever else they may say. They sounded rather interesting, cursing together like that. Rokanu's curses slowed, and he finally spoke a coherent sentence. Okay, word. "Saitou?"  
  
"Eh?" Sano paused. "What?"  
  
Saitou was curious as well, as it was obvious that the man knew his name. So, Sanosuke mentioned him. Interesting. Even more interesting when Rokanu spoke again. "You said 'Saitou' was dead."  
  
"Huh?" Sanosuke blinked. "Oh! I found out that the bastard had come back from the dead well after you left. So! Introduction time! Although, I think it can wait until we're outside. I really don't want to deal with any other psychotic cops showing up at the wrong moment..." He squinted really hard. "And you did as bad as I did. So nyah." He stuck his tongue out.  
  
Saitou chuckled again. "It'll be taken care of."  
  
Rokanu raised an eyebrow. "How's that?"  
  
Saitou let out another amused huff, before putting a cigarette to his mouth. "Now, if you'll excuse me," he chuckled, "I've got work to do..."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
(1) The point. Fangs. Ha ha ha. Yeah. I had to make this joke. ^^  
  
(2) The spirit. Will be explained later on. But the whole reason I even thought of this, was because I had this happen to me in a dream a couple of nights ago...  
  
(3) Rokanu. A mangled version of the name of a man from an American show/comic. I would almost say another guessing contest, but it'll be fairly obvious too soon.  
  
(4) Non-cannon. I mixed up alotta things with this... so... yeah.  
  
~*~  
  
Reviews:  
  
Molly-chan the Anime/Game fan: I don't mind the occasional plain review. ^^ I just like it when people like me enough to say so. ^^ This is being, of course, the next chappy... (Are you chappy happy?)  
  
Danyella Skyler Silverfire: ^^ Ah, yes... Tasuki-kun, floating around the Domino High School... ^^  
  
FREAK014: Ah, yess... the ass. Guy. It was a picture of Sano's ass, so... And his getting angry... Read "Not Meant For Me". It's a prequel to this, and explains the dilly of how Sano became a werewolf in the first place... ^^ I'm not sure if the kids'll be traumatized, but... I don't know, he may manage to traumatize his own son, though... (What would you do if a bunch of your friends started going off about how "hot" your dad is? lol)  
  
anaraz: Sorry about the wait... 


	15. Career Day, Books and Tea

Title: Silver and Cold  
  
Chapter: 15/?  
  
Chapter Title: Career Day, Books and Tea  
  
Current Rating: PG-13 (for a vague mention of gore)  
  
Author: Kage Kashu  
  
Archive: FF, AFF, Mediaminer  
  
Chapter Summary: Ryouga ends up visiting the Tendo dojo on accident. Jouno has to deal with his father's... "speech" to his class. Book-sama is happy. And We find out what Sanosuke's friend Rokanu is doing visiting them.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own any of these cute/lovely/sexy/cool/bizarre characters... excepting "the book", meaning Book-sama.  
  
Author's notes: The guess has been made!!! I don't mind if you guys keep guessing... 'cause it wasn't posted as a review... but the prize has been taken!! Yamai Daiken! She IMed her guess to me. (I think she emailed it too...)  
  
Current guesses that have been made, and were unfortunately wrong: Subaru (Tokyo Babylon/X1999). Kenshin's sensei (Rurouni Kenshin). Chichiri (Fushigi Yuugi). Seishirou (Tokyo Babylon/X1999). Hikitsu (Rurouni Kenshin). Trowa (Gundam Wing).  
  
Warnings: For this chapter? Weirdness. Weirdness and vague mention of blood and gore. Weirdness. And... weirdness.  
  
Crossover Shows: Ranma 1/2. YuGiOh. Gundam Wing. Rurouni Kenshin. X-men: Evolution. (If that doesn't give away who Rokanu is, I don't know what will.)  
  
Timeline: AUish, after Noa Arc. Some years later.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
~And I wonder  
  
Day to day  
  
I don't like you  
  
Anyway  
  
I don't need your shit today  
  
You're pathetic  
  
In your own way~  
  
~~Whatever(1)  
  
Saotome Ranma blinked at the familiar figure standing at the end of the table, mildly confused. Was Ryouga here to start another fight? He rather hoped not. He'd managed several months of peace and quiet, and was quite ready for more. If the other boy was here to ruin the little shred of happiness he'd managed, he would be _pissed_.  
  
Although, from the looks of it, this isn't where Ryouga had been heading in the first place. The eternally lost one looked rather confused himself. Not that Ranma was just going to let it go at that. He needed to be sure that Ryouga wasn't here for a fight. "You're not here to break the peace are you?"  
  
He almost grinned at the confusion that played across Ryouga's face as the Tendos, and even Ranma's father and Happosai, all edged away from Ranma, nervously. Ryouga scratched the back of his head and glanced at the clock on the wall. "No... Actually, I was on my way to work... I'm gonna be so late..." He sighed.  
  
Ryouga had a job? Just how the hell does someone with Ryouga's directional sense get a job? Ranma stared at him for a moment. "Alright, then. If you're not here to start a fight, you can eat with us. Kasumi cooked it, so it's safe."  
  
Ryouga blinked at him. "Thank you," he said, politely sitting to join them. Of course, for some reason, the only free place at the table was right next to Ranma, anyway. Maybe it was that threat he'd made about fighting at the table...  
  
As for Ryouga, he was mildly annoyed that he wouldn't be making it in to work today, being as the Nerima district was just as far away from Domino as the rest of Tokyo; he was also a bit confused at Ranma's attitude, but he wasn't sure, considering the looks on the faces of Saotome Genma, Happosai, and the Tendo family, if he should comment.  
  
Eventually, curiosity won out for both boys. But it was Ryouga to speak first. "What happened here? Everything's so quiet..."  
  
Ranma smiled. Okay, that was creepy. "Yes... Quiet. I like it better like this. As for why it's quiet... I had a disagreement a while back with Xian Pu. It's been nice and quiet around here ever since." He gave Ryouga a friendly grin. "So..." and his voice tensed, "How've you been, these past few months?"  
  
Ryouga blinked again. He was a bit surprised by it, but it seemed that Ranma had been worried about him. He bowed his head slightly. "I had trouble with something, and haven't been able to make contact... And I've been rather busy. I haven't been getting lost so much lately, because Sagara-san got me GPS (2)... I just wasn't really looking at it, this time, because it didn't seem to important to get there quickly..." He felt kind of strange saying it, but... He figured that they had a right to know.  
  
Ranma nodded. "You usually send postcards..."  
  
He bobbed his head slightly. "Yeah... I sent a few, but I haven't even had time to get a hold of any lately..."  
  
Akane broke in, "We only got one..."  
  
Ryouga wanted to curse postal service. "I apologize if I made you worry." He bowed his head slightly, again. And all of the tension he could feel from Ranma just... slipped away. Ranma must have been very upset about it, if he got so tense...  
  
Akane smiled across the table at him. "You have a GPS now?"  
  
He nodded. Then he remembered something. He turned slightly toward Ranma. "I almost forgot. I'm not supposed to be getting in... I think Sagara-san called them 'random fights' with you anymore. Something about not having proper control for it."  
  
There was a round of blinks and Ranma sighed. "I was half worried about that. But who exactly is this 'Sagara-san' that he can get you to avoid those kind of fights?"  
  
Ryouga grinned into his tea. "He's my... boss. And he's stronger than me." His grin widened when Ranma choked slightly on his tea.  
  
"Stronger than..."  
  
"Than me. You. Happosai. Cologne. He's also teaching me. But it's more how to control myself, I think." He glanced up at the clock. Any minute, Yahiko would be calling, because he hadn't shown up for work. As if on cue, his cell phone rang. "Excuse me," he said, standing, and moving outside.  
  
Ranma stared after him. "GPS, huh? And a cell phone too. Ryouga's getting in with technology... Maybe, if I got a job... Naw." He shook his head, deciding that, instead of pondering the possibilities of getting a job, he would listen in on Ryouga's telephone conversation. Along with all of the other members of the household.  
  
"Hibiki," Ryouga answered the phone tersely. "Huh? Oh, yeah.  
  
"No, I'm in Nerima...  
  
"No, I'm not... Tell Sagara-san that it's all fine, I just wasn't paying any attention to where I...  
  
"Huh? Oh, so you guys have a visitor? Is he paying rent?  
  
"Well, if you say so... Kamiya-san hasn't come back?  
  
"Not really, especially after I saw what they had been taking pictures of...  
  
"Of course I got the camera... I just hadn't expected it to be so... so... You know.  
  
"Yeah, that's the word. I don't know how you guys could have sat and watched them doing _that_... Yer a buncha...  
  
"Yeah, I'll ask them why they were in Domino... I'm kinda curious myself.  
  
"The psycho did what? Uhmm... No, I don't want to...  
  
"Damn it! I was saying that I didn't want to know!! Now I'm gonna have all these horrible...  
  
"Oh, you too?  
  
"No I'm not getting rid of the pictures. Blackmail, you know.  
  
"Fine, fine... 50/50. No, that's the best you're getting from me.  
  
"Well... No. Maybe later.  
  
"You really think so? Just don't tell Sagara-san that I have the film, okay?  
  
"Yeah, see ya when I get back. Ja matte ne." He tapped a button on the phone, before turning to see that everyone was staring at him. He frowned slightly. "Hm... I forgot. No privacy around here... (3)"  
  
Ranma leaned back against the wall, grinning innocently. "So, what was that all about?"  
  
The other teen placed the cell phone back into a pocket. "Not much actually. Found out that Sagara-san had a visitor... Kamiya-san hasn't come back from running off, after Sagara-san saw the altar. Yahiko-kun found out that I've got the... pictures of... that thing that the thing with the altar was all about. Found out that Happosai and Cologne were in Domino a few nights ago... That Psycho-san offered someone a cigarette. And now I owe Yahiko-kun 50% of what I make off of the blackmail. That's about it. Not that you would really know most of the people I was just mentioning."  
  
There was a round of blinks, and Nabiki popped in with, "Blackmail pictures? Can I see?"  
  
~*~  
  
Jounouchi Katsuya managed to hide, fairly well even, behind the shortest of his friends. Why this had to be the class that all of his friends were in, he really didn't know. His father wasn't in the class yet, but... Oops. Correction, his father hadn't been in the class yet.  
  
Considering that he had already heard just about everything that his dad could say about his job, he tuned it out, instead paying attention to the reactions of everyone else. Honda leaned in, to speak with him. "Dude..."  
  
"What?" he hissed, as Anzu leaned in from the other side.  
  
Anzu spoke first. "Your dad... He's so... He's..."  
  
Jouno groaned, plopping his head on his desk as he heard Bakura's darker half mutter, "Sexy?"  
  
"What kinda guy wears dangly earrings?" Honda asked. "I woulda thought that that would make him look flaming, but... It actually kinda suits him."  
  
It was a bit of a surprise when Kaiba leaned over to join the conversation. "I still don't see what you're worried about. He hasn't said anything that terrible yet, and... Just look at him. I'm beginning to think that you were exaggerating..."  
  
Jouno shook his head. "He just needs a little encouragement in that direction, that's all..."  
  
Yuugi tipped his head slightly back, also to join the conversation, "Encouragement in what direction?"  
  
"To tell gory stories. Any minute now, it'll start heading in that direction..." He covered his head, with his arms.  
  
A bit of what Jounouchi Tasuki was saying drifted to them, "It's not all clean work, though, that's for sure. Sometimes, it goes beyond dangerous into downright messy." A bunch of questioning voices rose in the wake of that revelation.  
  
Jouno shook his head, "Here it goes..."  
  
"Well, there was one case I was on... Probably one of the messiest ones, 'cause the guy we were after had this thing for mutilation... And he didn't really clean up too well afterwards, either..." A few shocked gasps from the young audience and Tasuki nodded. "That's right, we ended up having to pick these things up. And the guy was apparently trying to summon some sort of demon, but we didn't know that at the time...  
  
"We usually found the bodies... not all of them were human, either... a few days too late, but they were, at least identifiable... Except that one... Anyway, we managed to catch some guy dumping one of the bodies, and managed to find the guy responsible... A little too late for the last victim though, poor sap. The real shocker was what happened when we got him backed into the corner of the room...  
  
"I'm still not sure why the guy had something like that in his... office, but it was, in a way, kind of advantageous to us, because it didn't give him the time to use his gun... It was a trap built into the wall. A half dozen blades about the length of my body, so the intended victim doesn't get a chance to get away... He was split into seven pieces, and... I've never seen a messier ending to a case, actually... Any questions?" The question was too cheerful.  
  
Several students ran out of the class, looking quite green, and Yami Bakura leaned forward to ask what exactly the body had looked like, afterward. Of course, Tasuki, happy to have an eager listener, began to describe in great detail to the class at large just what a body sliced into seven large pieces looks like. Very few remained by the end of his description.  
  
Jounouchi Katsuya turned to Kaiba, who, not so surprisingly, was one of the students to remain in class. "You see what I meant?"  
  
Honda groaned on his other side. When Jouno turned to look... Well, Honda was nearly as green as the students who had left the room at a run. "Ne, Jou? How do you manage not to get sick, hearing that?"  
  
His eyes narrowed slightly. "Practice," was his dry reply.  
  
Kaiba tapped his shoulder. "If he's seen that kind of thing... Why did he get so upset when you had your arm in his face?"  
  
Jouno snorted. "What would you do, wakin' up ta that? Besides, from what I understand, he was rather sleep deprived that week, and that was the longest sleep he had even _gotten_ that week. So, yeah, he was a bit of a nerve case as well. He'd been working constantly... things seem to be going slow, though, now, considering that every time I go home, he's there..."  
  
He jumped when Malik snickered behind him. "You know, if I didn't know that he's gotta be a lot older than us..."  
  
Yami Bakura concluded the thought, "You'd be distinctly interested in him? It doesn't really matter... Jouno... didn't you say that he had divorced your mother?"  
  
Jouno's eyes went wide. "Don't you fucking dare!! That's my dad!! He's like... well... He's my dad!"  
  
Yami Bakura shrugged. "So?"  
  
Honda began snickering as Jounouchi's head shook back and forth. "That's just _wrong_ man, _wrong_!!"  
  
Kaiba began snickering, too. "Afraid of having someone your age hitting on your father?"  
  
"It's not that!" He groaned. "It's just... Not my friends. It's just... not right. Please don't, Bakura... I really don't want to deal with that..."  
  
Honda started laughing louder. And they all jumped when a pleasantly deep voice (4) sounded out behind them, "Don't want to deal with what, Katsu- chan?"  
  
"Aaaaiiiiii!!" he yowled, at hearing his father's voice right behind him. "Daaaaaad!! Don't do that!!"  
  
Jounouchi Tasuki grinned at his son's discomfiture, 'prominent canines' showing slightly. "Really... So, what's Katsu-chan all worried about?"  
  
Honda began laughing again. He'd only just managed to control it, and now... this... Of course, while he was laughing, Yami Bakura was giving Tasuki a close look over.  
  
Tasuki leaned slightly to the side. "Mou... Are you the one I threw that bottle at?"  
  
Honda stopped laughing abruptly, and nodded. "Uhmm..."  
  
Tasuki scratched the nape of his neck, nodding. "Yeah, I probably should apologize for that..." His gaze caught back on his son. "Well, I've gotta head back to the precinct, so... ja matte ne, Katsu-chan..." His grin widened, and he waved at the 'kids' before wandering out of the class.  
  
Yami Bakura sighed. "If only..."  
  
"No."  
  
~*~  
  
The book... was happy. It wasn't often that it was left open, like so, but currently, not only was it left open, but there was a presence above it to talk to. It was kind of boring, just sitting there, waiting for someone to open it, so, sitting open like this was a privilege. And if the presence above didn't want to listen, it didn't matter, because it _had_ to listen.  
  
Yes, the book was quite happy with this arrangement. Considering that the presence couldn't even ask questions, in its condition, it would only hear what the book wanted to talk about, and, spending centuries in the fashion it had, it had picked up a lot of gossip. That was its favorite thing to do. But those who opened the book rarely wanted to hear gossip, so, this was a golden opportunity.  
  
The vampire in the glass jar sitting on the book's open pages would _have_ to listen to its centuries worth of gossip. And Kushrenada... didn't even have a way to object...  
  
~*~  
  
Rokanu didn't necessarily like tea, but he knew Japanese custom, and it would be rude to refuse too vehemently. Especially considering that refusal of refreshments is considered as merely being polite. And Sanosuke had been around long enough to have certain customs engrained into him, and in this case, the ingrained custom being to all but annoy the guest into taking refreshments. (4)  
  
He hated tea. Saitou, it seemed, hated tea too, but Sanosuke managed to get him to take some as well. The look on the man's face was actually kind of amusing, as he drank the tea. It seemed that Saitou disliked tea far more than Rokanu did.  
  
And now... They were just sitting there, rather quietly as well. It seemed odd to Rokanu, as Sanosuke had been a very hyper man, when they had first met. Sanosuke didn't seem the least bit uncomfortable sitting all still like that, either. And this is how it had been for the past twenty minutes. Rokanu was _not_ used to being polite at all, and he'd lost most of his Japanese mannerisms, so this wasn't exactly comfortable.  
  
Finally, the silence was broken. "So, how was Canada?"  
  
Rokanu blinked. Canada? Oh, yes, Canada. "Troublesome," he grumbled. "I prefer New York."  
  
Sanosuke stared at him interestedly. "I know someone who used to live in New York... At least, one would think so, by his accent." He grinned. "What've you been up to recently?"  
  
"I've been working at a school boarding house, actually." He sipped the tea, wishing that Sanosuke had had the decency to at least put some alcohol in it.  
  
Said were raised his eyebrows sharply. "Weren't you saying that you hated kids?"  
  
"I do." He frowned at the tea. Nasty, plain green tea. Sanosuke seemed to be enjoying his, though. Which was strange, too. Sanosuke hadn't really cared much for tea, then.  
  
"And you're working with a bunch of them?" Saitou broke in, amused.  
  
Rokanu shrugged. "It would bother me more, but these kids..."  
  
"Similar to you?" Sanosuke asked softly. "I can understand that, I guess... But what brings you back out here?"  
  
"Looking for you," he admitted, grimacing. He really hated tea. "One of our kids... seems to have trouble with her... talent."  
  
"Yeah? What's her name?" Sanosuke asked, sipping calmly at his tea.  
  
"Rahne Sinclair (5)." Rokanu nodded. "She's a shapeshifter that turns into a wolf. Not exactly a were, but similar."  
  
"And you want me to..." Sanosuke raised an eyebrow. "I've got enough kids to handle right here."  
  
"She's fifteen."  
  
"Whoa," Sanosuke shook his head. "I'm so not gonna deal with a teenage girl. That is completely out of the question!"  
  
"Actually, some of us are going to be staying here for a while, anyway, so..." He grimaced again, into his tea. "All I'm asking is that you help teach her how to deal with being a wolf as well as a human..." He snorted. "You wouldn't have to be boarding her, or anything, just..."  
  
Sanosuke sighed quietly. "Alright, but... Just so you know, I won't exactly be making it all gentle on her, just because she _isn't_ exactly a were..." He grinned, "Oi, Korogi-san (6)... Why are you still here, anyway?"  
  
Saitou blinked at him. "Purely out of curiosity, ahou."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
(1) I love this song, and it took me forever to figure out that it was by Godsmack, and not Metallica... Heh. And I'm a bit of a fan of both...  
  
(2) GPS. Global-Positioning-System.  
  
(3) No such thing as privacy if you're in the Tendo dojo. ^^  
  
(4) According to Japanese custom, when you're first offered refreshments you're supposed to refuse. Then the host says something along the lines of "Don't be shy..." And I think (I'm not sure of this...) that it's kind of a "politeness" war. That's how it seemed to me, anyway. Whoever acquiesces first is the less polite.  
  
(5) Rahne Sinclair. With a heavy Japanese accent, this would come out as "Rani Senkureir"... I think. Sometimes it's hard to mangle names into the accent of another language... And this may give you a clue as to who Rokanu is. ^^  
  
(6) Korogi-san. Cricket-san.  
  
~*~  
  
Reviews:  
  
Danyella Skyler Silverfire: Yes, Rubberwall-sama. ^^  
  
anaraz: You have no idea. That was just a modified version of my dream, and nowhere near as frightening... That friggen snake scared the living daylights outta me...  
  
Molly-chan the Anime/Game fan: O.o Mou, yer spirit friends scare me. lol But I do have doubts as to whether or not YB has that ability. D, I think you need to be careful what you eat, if ya get sick that easily... At least I understand A's reason... O.o Yeah. ^^' 


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